This brown sugar cupcakes recipe takes the basic vanilla cupcake to a whole new level. The molasses in the brown sugar add a unique flavor and gorgeous color to the cupcakes and buttercream. They are so versatile, you can add a little cinnamon to make them cinnamon brown sugar cupcakes or add a little cocoa powder to make them chocolate brown sugar cupcakes.
Table of Content
Recently Aadi had a few friends over on a play date and he said 'mama make cupcakes' which is normally what I do. If he goes to friends on a play date then he usually takes cookies with him. And if they come over then it's "mama make cupcakes".
I'm a big fan of brown sugar; so instead of my white sugar, I added brown sugar to my favorite cupcake recipe.
And guess what? A big hit!! The kids loved it so much that I had one of the kid's mothers calling me to check if the recipe was on my blog. So, I promised her I will make them again and share the recipe. I had not taken any pictures then, so I made them again last weekend just so I can share them with you all.
About these cupcakes
This is an absolutely delicious butter-based cupcake recipe using the classic creaming method.
The molasses in the brown sugar adds so much depth and flavor to this cupcake and buttercream. You will see how gorgeous this batter is. The subtle aroma you get from the brown sugar is sweet and very inviting. I love the color of the buttercream from the brown sugar.
The best part is these are so versatile. A little twist is all you need to give them a whole new dimension.
- I've added 1 cup of chocolate chips to them to make them chocolate Chip brown sugar cupcakes
- A hint of cinnamon in fall or winter is divine - cinnamon brown sugar cupcakes
- Substitute 2 tbsp of the flour for 2 tbsp of cocoa powder you have chocolate brown sugar cupcakes
- My Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream cheese frosting in fall are also a variation on these cupcakes.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter - I always use unsalted butter in my recipes. And yet, if salted butter is all you have - use it but omit salt in the recipe.
- Brown sugar - This is what adds that unique flavor to the buttercream as compared to the vanilla cupcakes. If you can't find brown sugar - use white sugar and a 1 tbsp of molasses.
- Brown sugar powder - Well, you don't really get brown sugar powder.
As I explain in the instructions below - simply pulse the brown sugar in a food processor for a while. This will help combine the brown sugar in the butter very easily. I have tried not pulsing it and it takes a longer time to blend the two. So the trick is to pulse the brown sugar. You can use light or dark brown sugar and the color of your frosting will reflect the color of the sugar used. Personally, I'm a huge fan of dark brown sugar. - Eggs - I use large eggs about 50 to 60 grams each.
- Fresh cream - I use a good 34 to 38 percent of fat but it's just a guideline. You can even use milk. And yet, it will affect the richness of the cupcakes.
- Vanilla - A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. Premium vanilla can be expensive which is why I make my own homemade vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.
Step by step instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325 °F / 170 °C / Gas Mark 3. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners
- Dry ingredients - Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Tip - make sure the butter is room temperature, if the butter is too soft it won't cream well and the cupcakes can become greasy. - Add eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl often. Followed by the vanilla extract.
Tip - make sure the eggs are at room temperature to prevent curdling. If it does curdle just add one tablespoon of flour and combine well. - Next, add whipping cream and flour mix in three batches.
Tip - combine the flour well but do not overmix as we do not want to activate any gluten. - Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the batter evenly into the cupcakes liners
Tip - Depending on the size of the eggs and how the batter is mixed you may get between 12 to 14 cupcakes. - Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Tip - If you let the cupcakes sit in the pan for long the moisture will cause them to sink so remove them from the pan as soon as possible
Buttercream
- Place the brown sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times until you have almost a powder consistency.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream, and sugar until light and fluffy.
Tip - since the brown sugar is not powdered sugar it does take a while to cream - about 2 to 3 minutes. Don't rush or you will have a grainy buttercream. - When all the brown sugar has dissolved add the powdered sugar. Followed by the vanilla extract.
Frost the cupcakes
- Put the frosting in a piping bag with a star or round tip or similar. Pipe a generous swirl. Alternatively, use a spatula to create a dome on the cupcake.
- I like to sprinkle them with some brown sugar to show that these are made with brown sugar.
- Enjoy!
Storage
- The unfrosted cupcakes will keep well at room temperature for three days, in the fridge for five days if wrapped well.
- Having said that - cupcakes are always at their best in the first two days.
Frequently asked questions
Bake them until just done - over-baking can dry them out.
Use ingredients like sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, apple sauce that help keep the cupcakes moist.
Add simple syrup to cupcakes before frosting.
Moist fluffy cupcakes are all about adding volume to your batter when mixing. This means that knowing how to mix your batter is important.
Over mixing the batter can collapse cupcakes, thus taking away all that fluffiness. As a rule of thumb, cream butter and sugar until the sugar has almost melted - 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time - and make sure each one is well incorporated.
Then, add the flour and liquid - but mix until just incorporated. It is easy to over mix at this stage.
There are a few things you can do - we discussed it in this post -- how to avoid cupcake liners peeling after baking.
There are few things you can do to bake similar size cupcakes - we discussed that in detail here - How to bake same size cupcakes.
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Printable Recipe
Scrumptious Brown Sugar Cupcakes
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 4 oz (113 g) Butter unsalted, room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) Light brown sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- ½ cup (120 ml) Whipping cream 32% or more
- 1 ½ cup (190 g) Cake flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Buttercream
- 4 oz (113 g) Unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) Dark brown sugar (powdered in a Food Processor)
- 1 cup (120 g) Powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp Fresh cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325 °F / 170 °C / Gas Mark 3. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners
- Dry ingredients - Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Tip - make sure the butter is room temperature, if the butter is too soft it won't cream well and the cupcakes can become greasy.
- Add eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl often. Followed by the vanilla extract.Tip - make sure the eggs are at room temperature to prevent curdling. If it does curdle just add one tablespoon of flour and combine well.
- Next, add whipping cream and flour mix in three batches.Tip - combine the flour well but do not overmix as we do not want to activate any gluten.
- Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the batter evenly into the cupcakes liners Tip - Depending on the size of the eggs and how the batter is mixed you may get between 12 to 14 cupcakes.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.Tip - If you let the cupcakes sit in the pan for long the moisture will cause them to sink so remove them from the pan as soon as possible
Buttercream
- Place the brown sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times until you have almost a powder consistency.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream, and sugar until light and fluffy.Tip - since the brown sugar is not powdered sugar it does take a while to cream - about 2 to 3 minutes. Don't rush or you will have a grainy buttercream.
- When all the brown sugar has dissolved add the powdered sugar. Followed by the vanilla extract.
Frost the cupcakes
- Put the frosting in a piping bag with a star or round tip or similar. Pipe a generous swirl. Alternatively, use a spatula to create a dome on the cupcake.
- I like to sprinkle them with some brown sugar to show that these are made with brown sugar.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Follow the recipe properly with minimum substitutions.
- Always use good quality ingredients.
- Make sure the ingredients are all at room temperature.
- Never over mix the batter.
- Use a scoop for baking similar size cupcakes.
- Always preheat the oven before baking - a hot oven works best for cupcakes.
- Bake cupcakes at the right temperature.
- Always bake cupcakes on the center rack one tray at a time.
- Never open the oven during baking - no peeking.
- Remove cupcakes from their pan no later than 7 to 10 minutes after baking.
- Store cupcakes properly after baking. Place them in an airtight container at room temperature. Cupcakes dry in the fridge unless wrapped properly with plastic wrap.
- Simple syrup the cupcakes if you don't plan to eat them on the same day.
- Cinnamon brown sugar cupcakes - Add ½ a tsp of cinnamon to the flour mixture to give them a cinnamon flavor. These are great in fall as the warm spices combine beautifully with the molasses in the brown sugar.
- Chocolate brown sugar cupcakes - Substitute 2 tbsp flour in the recipe with 2 tbsp cocoa powder to make these chocolate brown sugar cupcakes. You can also add 50 grams (3 oz) melted cooled chocolate to the frosting to make it a chocolate brown sugar frosting.
Storage
- These unforsted cupcakes will keep well at room temperature for three days, in the fridge for five days if wrapped well.
- Having said that - cupcakes are always at their best on the first two days.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Claire and Emma
This recipe was great! Or at least, I'm pretty sure it would have been great. We ended up accidentally puting the cream in with the butter and sugar (we absolutely blame the video of the braided bread embedded in the page, we were a bit distracted by how mesmerising it was) which made the mixtue look like bits of popcorn in dish water, and then we had to substitute in yoghurt because we had no eggs. We also have never heard of cake flour, and it turned out we also didn't have baking powder either, so we chucked in some self-raising flour. The salt didn't get put in and our measurements for the vanilla were way off. We sort of assumed brown sugar powder was just a fancy name for brown sugar. Then we added in some milk because it was a bit dry. The icing we completely winged. It turned out really good! So in conclusion, this is a really good recipe, because no matter how much you botch it up, it turns out edible! So sorry for murdering your recipe, by the way. We hope all you real cooks don't hate us too much now.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Claire and Emma. Happy you enjoyed this recipe. Yes, there is a video on the blog that displays the current trending recipes. You can of course, just clost it and continue with the recipe.
I have mentioned in the ingredients and instructions why and how to make the brown sugar powder.
Happy the self-rising flour worked well too.
Thanks for the feedback.