Martha Stewart's Maple Cupcakes with Maple Frosting (#14)



Martha says: "Here the crimson autumn leaves are cast in marzipan and placed atop maple-flavored cupcakes and frosting."

Layla says: "I will have one of those, please, with milk!"



Who can resist a maple cupcake the the early fall? Not me and not Layla! These cupcakes have 2 cups of pure maple syrup in them...very maple-ee...Then there's there's the maple frosting with another two cups in that...my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book smells like maple as I sit here writing this!


I did have one minor glitch while making the buttercream frosting: I used a pan that was too small for the maple syrup and it by the time I realized that it was too small, it had started to boil over....trust me, it was extreme stress! So, better to use a pot that may seem too big!



Maple Cupcakes Recipe (page 240 in book)
Ingredients for Cupcakes
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
2 cups pure maple syrup,, preferably Grade B
3 large eggs, room temp
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medum-high speed, cream butter until smooth. Add the maple syrup, and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture, and beat well to combine. Beat in milk and vanilla until combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until glden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes for standard, 10 to 13 minutes for minis. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

4. To finish, use an offset spatula to spread each cupcake with maple buttercream. top with marzipan leaves. Decorated cupcakes can be strored up to 1 day at room temperature in airtight containers.




Ingredients for Maple Buttercream Frosting (page 309 in book)

Martha says: "Before adding the maple syrup to the beaten eggs, it should be heated to 240 degrees F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test by adding a drop of syrup to cold water; it should immediately form a soft ball. Be sure to buy only pure maple syrup, not a brand labeled "pancake" or "maple-flavored syrup," which is actually corn syrup flavored with maple extract. Pure maple syrup is graded according to color and flavor; grade B has a robust flavor that works well in baking and other recipes."

6 large egg yolks
2 cups pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tablespoons

1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix egg yolks on high speed until pale and thick, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring maple syrup to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Cook until syrup registers 240 degrees F, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. with mixer on medium speed, carefully pour syrup in a slow, steady stream down the side of the bowl until it is completely combined, about 1-1/2 minutes. continue mixing until the bottom of the bowl is only slightly warm to the touch, 5-6 minutes.

4. Add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, mixing until completely incorporated after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, scrape down the sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until buttercream is fluffy, about 4 minutes more. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and whisk on low speed until fluffy again, about 5 minutes.



Marzipan Maple Leaves

Divide 5 ounces of marzipan into thirds, and tint with red, orange, and brown gel-paste food colors. Knead all pieces together briefly until colors are streaky. Using a rolling pin, roll out marzipan to 1/8 inch thick on a work surface lightly dusted with cornstarch. Cut out 24 leaves using a 2-1/4-inch leaf-shaped cookie cutter (I found mine at Michaels) for standard cupcakes or 66 leaving using a 1-3/4-inch cutter for minis. Marzipan leaves can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature in an airtight container, between layers of parchment paper.

Have a great week...CQ

11 comments:

  1. As always, love Layla eyeing the cupcakes! I love maple buttercream. How did you like these? Too much maple or just right?

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  2. Well, actually...it seemed like a lot! While I'm sure that I'll get over it, today I don't think I want to ever smell maple again!

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  3. Looking good, as usual, both Layla and the cuppies. Keep up the good work. P.S. Seeing your adorable dog makes me yearn to get out of apartment living to get a lovable Layla of my own.

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  4. Carmen12:21 PM

    I made this recipe over the weekend and both the cupcake and the frosting were good but they didn't taste like maple at all.

    Wonder what I am doing wrong, I followed both recipes to the T?!!

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  5. Anonymous3:49 PM

    Did you really mean to write "two cupcakes of pure maple syrup"? I laughed out loud and was glad I hadn't just taken a sip of coffee! I love your photos and talk about cupcakes!
    Janet

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  6. Perfect for fall!

    I sure get a kick out of your dog:)

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  7. Maple syrup cupcakes sound so good. I love cupcakes and maple syrup.

    Steve

    http://www.saltlakerestaurant.com

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  8. Very fallish. And yummy sounding.
    The dog eyeing up the cupcakes is perfect. How does she not ever eat them?

    They are to good too resist!

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  9. These cupcakes are great! And being from Canada I love the whole maple thing! Your blog is awesome. I love baking cupcakes too!
    http://eireannbroadwaybakery.blogspot.com/

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  10. I'll have to try making these sometime soon...I would have never thought of flavoring cupcakes and/or frosting with maple syrup. I re-posted this on http://www.cupcake-forum.com

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  11. We're actually making these cupcakes right now!! Was the batter slightly runny for you? The cupcakes are almost done and they look great, so I don't think the runny-ness affected them!
    We're just starting off with our blog, so feel free to check us out!

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