Vintage Spice Cupcakes with Molasses Buttercream
Ok so I am slightly behind STILL from being on vacation but I feel right on the edge of being caught up. I usually have a cake started on monday, iced and photographed on tuesday and posted on Wednesday first thing in the morning, so Wednesday afternoon feels pretty close. I actually got my cake book out on Monday and looked at the recipe and was all ready to dive in when I realized I didn’t have any sugar. Kind of a big deal when you are making a cake, or cupcakes as the case may be. I tried to figure out a substitute (ya I know, Mr. Chemist would ROLL his eyes and say, “You are so your mother!” 
Ha! Yes, I tried to substitute sugar. In a cake. But I only had honey and that, I knew, would not work. So much for making cupcakes! But my house is clean. Then I went to the store yesterday and got a huge bag of sugar and made cupcakes last night. This is really more of what I would consider a Fall type cupcake but it’s what came next in my book so I went with it. I have to admit they were really, really good. Especially the Molasses Buttercream, OH.MY. I LOoooooove molasses. My sister has always joked about me being part horse (maybe it’s true, I love to run and eat molasses). Oh it’s so yummy and it made a rather lovely buttercream that I may have eaten quite a lot of. The recipe actually called for a molasses whipped cream which I intended to make but forgot to buy heavy cream so I couldn’t. Thus I made up the Molasses Buttercream.
- 2 cups sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ½ cup soft butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
FOR THE MOLASSES BUTTERCREAM - 1 cup butter, soft
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- Preheat your oven to 350˚ and prepare your cupcake pan by lining with paper liners, set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high.
- Put the mixer on low speed and slowly add the eggs.
- Measure out your buttermilk and then alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in 4 additions, mixing only until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
- Cool about 15 minutes in the pan and then carefully remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
FOR THE MOLASSES BUTTERCREAM - In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on high for 7 minutes.
- Put the mixer on low and add the sugar, mix until smooth and combined.
- Add the cream slowly, add only enough to make the icing a good consistency for piping.
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