Stuffed French Toast Cupcakes

Happy Monday morning!

If you were following on Facebook this weekend, you know that I was working on some new cupcake flavors for my 500th post- one based on a dessert and one based on a breakfast treat. This is the breakfast concoction- a berry-stuffed french toast cupcake! Begin drooling now.

It isn't my 500th post yet (just a few more to go!), but this recipe was just as good as the one I picked to share with you later. If you like sweet breakfasts, this cupcake is right up your alley. Here's the rundown: it's a maple cinnamon cake with strawberry cream cheese filling, cream cheese frosting with a berry swirl, topped with a french toast bite and a sliced strawberry. Take a bite into this thing and it's reminiscent of a big slice of syrup-slathered, stuffed french toast (something like this, perhaps?).

I won't pretend that these are quick and easy to throw together. There are a quite a few steps involved, but if you want to go the extra mile, they will certainly satisfy. I think they would be just as tasty without the filling and the toppings, so you could make a quicker version using just the cake and frosting recipes.

These cupcakes would be perfect for a brunch table or a replacement for those (boring) doughnuts at your morning workplace celebrations. In case you're wondering, I think it's an excellent idea to eat cupcakes before noon. Before 8 AM, even. A perfectly acceptable breakfast, really. 

Cupcakes disguised as breakfast. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Stuffed French Toast Cupcakes
by Oven Love
makes about 16 cupcakes

For the cupcakes (adapted from Cupcake Project):

• 1 3/4 cups (175 grams) cake flour, not self-rising
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1 cup (225 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup (75 grams) full-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable oil (60 ml)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add the sugar and mix until well combined.
4. Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes.  Because there is so little butter, you'll end up with a very fine crumb texture.
5. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, vanilla extract and maple extract until smooth.
6. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
7. Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined.  The batter will be liquid.  (Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong.  It's supposed to be that way.)
8. Fill cupcake liners just over 1/2 full.
9. Bake for 14 minutes and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it. If they are not done, test again in two minutes.  If they are still not done, test again in another two minutes.
10. When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack (or just on your counter if you don't own a cooling rack) to cool.

For the filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 6-8 strawberries, diced
• 3 tablespoons strawberry or raspberry jam

1. In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, diced strawberries and jam. To fill the cupcakes, cut a circle in the center of the cupcake to make a hole and remove the excess cake with a spoon. Spoon the filling into the hole.

For the frosting:

• 12 oz cream cheese, softened
• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1-2 tablespoons strawberry or raspberry jam

1. In a stand mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth- no lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the butter, mixing again until smooth. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until smooth. If the mixture is too soft, add additional powdered sugar or chill in the refrigerator before piping. 
2. To frost the cupcakes using the swirl effect, prepare a pastry bag with a large round tip. Using a spoon, smear a few lines of jam up the sides of the pastry bag. Fill the bag with the cream cheese mixture. Pipe onto the cupcakes in a circular motion.

For the toppings:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 thick slices french bread
• 4 strawberries, sliced

1.  Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Dip the slices of bread into the mixture until soaked through. Add the butter to the pan and fry the slices until golden brown. Let cool, cut into cubes and top each cupcake with a french toast cube and a strawberry slice. (Tip: slice the strawberries first and let them sit out a bit on a paper towel so their juices evaporate and you don't have a soggy mess on your cupcake.)