Soft and super pillowy maple cupcakes crowned with a toasty and irresistibly heavenly brown butter frosting!
Maple is one of those flavors that’s normally only enjoyed with breakfast foods, like pancakes, waffles, and bacon. However, the warmth and comforting sweetness that it has to offer gives it so many great dessert possibilities. From Maple Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Maple Sandwich Cookies to Maple-Iced Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and Pumpkin Maple Dessert Lasagna, I’ve definitely dabbled in my fare share of maple sweets over the years.
One idea that’s been on my dessert bucket list for a while is maple cupcakes.
This week, I decided it was FINALLY time…
Um, can you say mouthwatering?
Not only are these cupcakes infused with the natural sweetness of pure maple syrup, but they’re also topped with the most DIVINE brown butter frosting. And let me tell you, maple and brown butter are the most BLISSFUL match made in heaven. With its nutty notes and caramelized flavor, brown butter complements the buttery and almost butterscotchy sweetness of maple syrup so incredibly well. These two were DESTINED for each other.
So how do these little maple masterpieces come together? Well, first the dry ingredients are whisked together. This includes all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The next step is to beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. To ensure that these cupcakes are absolutely PACKED with maple flavor, I went with brown sugar. JUST brown sugar. Even though a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar provides a nice balance, since maple is the star of the show, it MUST be brown sugar all the way!
After a couple of eggs and vanilla are incorporated into the butter-sugar mixture, sour cream is added. This is going to give you that nice moist crumb. It’s just enough to keep these cupcakes light and fluffy without being too dense. Remember, we’re making CUPCAKES, not muffins!
Now we’ve come to the most important ingredient of the recipe–the maple syrup. A half cup of pure maple syrup is added to the batter. If you don’t have the real stuff, you can also use “pancake syrup”. Don’t worry, I won’t tell! And thanks to the full cup of brown sugar and half cup of maple syrup, maple flavoring/extract isn’t needed in this recipe. It already has the perfect amount of maple flavor!
Moving on to the brown butter frosting…
Although it took me a while to decide on the type of frosting to top my maple cupcakes with, I’m SO glad I ultimately landed on brown butter frosting. It’s actually a no-brainer when you think about it. Maple syrup and butter kind of go hand in hand since they’re the main toppers for pancakes and waffles. That’s why I just knew brown butter frosting was the ONLY option for these maple cupcakes.
The frosting contains two sticks of butter (1 cup), however, you’re only going to brown half of it. Place the stick of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter. After it’s completely melted, it’ll start to bubble and foam. Use a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon to constantly stir the butter. Not only will this ensure even heating throughout, but you’ll be able to move the foam aside to see the color of the melted butter better. Once you see little brown bits fall to the bottom of the saucepan and you smell a nutty, toffee-like aroma, immediately remove the saucepan from the stove. To prevent further cooking, pour the brown butter into another dish, preferably a shallow bowl for quicker cooling.
The brown butter needs to cool completely and solidify. I made my brown butter the night before, let it cool to room temperature, covered it in plastic wrap, and placed it in the refrigerator. If you make the frosting the day of, you can speed up the chilling process by placing the brown butter in the freezer and stirring it ever 15 minutes. Over time, the butter should thicken and eventually solidify. Make sure that it’s completely solid before incorporating it into the frosting.
Once you’ve got your solidified brown butter, combine it with the other stick of butter until smooth and creamy. If you still see big chunks of brown butter throughout, use the back of a metal spoon to smash the brown butter chunks against the wall of the bowl before adding the powdered sugar. After the powdered sugar and vanilla are added, heavy cream (or milk) is whipped into the frosting to make it nice and fluffy.
For these cupcakes I used my Ateco 829 large star tip to pipe the frosting on top. Unfortunately, the recipe literally makes just enough to frost all 18 cupcakes, which means no leftover frosting for frosting shots…womp womp.
Oh well, I guess you’ll just have to make up for it by eating 2 or 3 cupcakes instead…
Maple Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Brown Butter Frosting
- ½ cup SALTED butter, for browning
- ½ cup UNSALTED butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Whole toasted pecans, for topping
- Pure maple syrup, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until lightened and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the sour cream, maple syrup, and vanilla on medium speed.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- In a medium saucepan, melt the salted butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma. Once browned and nutty, immediately pour into a shallow bowl, then place into the freezer until solid, about 30-45 minutes. Stir it every 15 minutes to speed up the chilling time.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the solidified browned butter with the unsalted butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until combined. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and continue mixing until light and fluffy.
- Pipe or spread buttercream onto cooled cupcakes. Top with whole toasted pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup, if desired. Cupcakes keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.