A sweet treat at the beginning of your week...

Monday has rolled round again and you might be wishing that it was Sunday again or that next weekend would be here already especially because next weekend is Memorial Day weekend! Hello bbq, watermelon and summer fun! Back to the start of your weekend, I will make it a bit sweeter by providing you a cupcake recipe, churro cupcake to be exact. On Friday, I attended a purse party my friend Becky was hosting and I asked if I could bring dessert. By the way if any of you ever hold a party that you invite me too, I will be most likely to volunteer to bring dessert. Anyways, Becky was making Mexican food for dinner, so that was my cue for dessert. It was a choice between tres leches cake and churro cupcakes but considering it was a party, cupcakes ultimately won out. Tres leches cake would have had to be cut, placed on plates, which meant more dishes for the hostess,  forks had to be passed around thus my reasoning for why I went with cupcakes. Of course where do are all great churro cupcake recipes found? Pinterest!

Let's make the cupcakes! First, gather together your ingredients. This recipe will make 24-28 cupcakes depending on how much batter you fill each cupcake liner. 

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cup cake flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 3/4 cup white sugar, 4 large eggs, room temperature, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 1/4 cup milk. 

For the cinnamon sugar topping: 4 tablespoons butter melted, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoon cinnamon. For the cream cheese frosting: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature, 4 ounces (1/2 brick) cream cheese, room temperature, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tablespoon milk (if desired). *side note the original recipe called for double of the cream cheese frosting but for the amount of frosting you put on each cupcake, doubling the frosting makes way too much. When I made the frosting recipe as written here, I still have plenty of leftover frosting.

To make the cupcake batter, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the muffin tin with muffin liners and set aside. In a small bowl, combine both flours, the baking soda and cinnamon and stir until mixed well. 

In your mixing bowl, cream the butter. 

Add in the sugar and cream both ingredients until light and fluffy. 

Add in the eggs then, one at a time, mixing them into the batter in between each egg. 

Then add in the vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated. Now you will add in the flour and the milk but add in 1/3 of the flour mixture then 1/2 of the milk then add in one more third of the flour mixture followed by the remaining 1/2 of milk and lastly the last 1/3 of the flour mixture. 

Mix the batter completely after each flour or milk addition.  

Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full. 

Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before moving onto the next step.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, melt 1/2 stick of butter. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon and mix completely. Dip the top of one cupcake into the melted butter then dip it into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat this process for all the cupcakes.

 Then make the frosting to top off the cupcakes. In your mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in the cinnamon and the vanilla extract. Lastly, add in the powdered sugar and combine until fully mixed. If necessary, add in the milk if the frosting is too much for your liking. You need just a dollop on the top of the cupcake. I put the frosting in a frosting bag with a pastry tip but you can put the frosting in a ziploc bag and snip off one of the corners.

 Then serve, eat and enjoy! Have a sweet Monday friends and come back tomorrow for a really fun announcement!

recipe found here