Oh Canada! Maple Leaf Cupcakes

In honor of the Canadian blood in our family, we decided to show some patriotic spirit in an unusual way:  cupcakes.

The cupcakes are a vanilla maple with a maple buttercream frosting with a surprise in the middle, a red maple leaf.  This recipe requires a bit of time (and patience) as there are several steps involved and two baking times.  For those who want a different design in the middle, say a heart (Valentine's Day is around the corner), just use a different mini cookie cutter.  If you are not a big fan of maple, omit it and double the vanilla.

Have fun with this and nibble along the way!

Bon appétit!

Directions:

Using your mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add the vanilla and maple extracts.  

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk until thoroughly combined.

Remove a generous 1/3 of the batter to a separate bowl.  Add the red food coloring (or desired color) and mix until you get your desired hue and saturation.  Pour the batter into a lightly greased 8 x 8 baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges of cake are turning golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  While waiting, paint your nails, check your Facebook, or clean out that neglected cabinet above the fridge.

Allow to cool completely.  Once it is cool, loosen the edges with a knife and invert onto a cutting board.  Use a small maple leaf cookie cutter (or shape of choice) and cut out 12 leaves and any extra you may want for garnishing.  Use a cutter that will allow the leaves to fit into an average-sized baking pan.  Eat the left over scraps......

Spoon two generous tablespoons of batter into greased paper-lined cupcake tins.  Put one leaf, stem end down, into each tin and press down into the batter.  Make sure to orient the leaves in the same direction in the pan.  Cover the leaf with another generous tablespoon of batter and place back in oven for another 24 minutes.    Keeping the cupcakes facing forward, remove to a wire rack to cool.

When you decorate the cupcakes, keep in mind you want to be able to mark what is the front, so when you cut or bite into the cake, you see the leaf pattern, rather than a rectangle shape (side view of leaf). I decorated some with a maple leaf on top with the stem facing the front.  On others with sprinkles, I orientated the hearts in one direction with the point facing the front.

To make the buttercream frosting,  beat the butter until smooth, then add the vanilla and maple extracts.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the milk and beat on high until the frosting is light and fluffy.  If needed, add more sugar or milk. If no one is watching, lick the beaters clean.... and the bowl too :-) 

My daughters helped out with the decorating.  The bottom cupcake is a mystery as to which way the leaf is hidden.

Packaged up for delivery to a very special Canadian from Ontario whom my daughter (and I) look up to very much :-)

Hope they survive the trip on the school bus!

The surprise inside!  The stem broke off on this one when it was pushed in.  Just seeing this makes me want to belt out "Oh Canada" :-)  The maple goodness of each bite takes me  down memory lane to the first time I tasted maple syrup candy on a stick. Yum!

Here are the details of the recipe:

Cupcake:

1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cup (260 grams) granulated white sugar

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple extract

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk or light cream

Frosting:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon maple extract

2 cups (230 grams) powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk or light cream