Scrumptious Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream
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.
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 cupcake recipe. 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 that 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 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 some of the flour for Cocoa powder you have a Chocolate brown sugar cupcakes
- My Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream cheese frosting in fall are also a variation on these cupcakes.
Let's talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- 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.
Useful Tips and Tools
- A good quality muffin or cupcake tray is a great investment as it will prevent sticking.
- I like using my stand mixer or hand mixer to make mixing easy. But, you can also use just a simple bowl, whisk, and spatula.
- I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking. And the same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons.
- Also, it is important to buy cupcake liners from a trustworthy source to prevent cupcake liners from peeling.
- And, I love using my cupcake scooper when making cupcakes.
- Lastly, a good baking tray is always important. Try using a light-colored baking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with parchment paper for easy clean up just in case of spillage.
How to Make Scrumptious Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream (Save/Pin)
Prepare
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
- Prepare baking cups or cupcake wrappers in a muffin tray.
- Sift flour with salt and baking powder.
Make the Batter
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- Next, add cream and flour mix in three batches.
- Lastly, add vanilla.
- Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the batter evenly between 12 cupcakes wraps or 10 baking cups.
Bake the Cupcakes
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Chill cupcakes completely before you decorate.
Make the Buttercream
- Place the brown sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times.
- Cream the butter, cream, and sugar until light, and fluffy.
- When all the brown sugar has dissolved.
- Add the powdered sugar.
- Lastly, add vanilla.
Pipe the Buttercream
- Place buttercream into a piping bag with your favorite piping tip and pipe a swirl.
- Alternatively, use a spatula to create a dome on the cupcake.
- I like to sprinkle them with some brown sugar as well.
Storage
- These 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.
How do you make Cinnamon Brown sugar cupcakes?
For Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cupcakes add 1/2 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.
How do you make Chocolate Brown Sugar Cupcakes?
For Chocolate brown sugar cookies - 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.
12 Tips for baking perfect cupcakes every single time
- 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.
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.
Baking perfect cupcakes is not hard to achieve if you follow the above 12 tips for perfect cupcakes.
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.
You can place cupcakes in the fridge for a few minutes to cool them quickly. I like to place them for just 5 to 7 minutes in the freezer.
Never leave cupcakes in the fridge open for long as they will dry out.
I like to bake at 160 - 170 C, or 310 to 325 F, or Gas mark 2 - 3.
Depending on how hot your oven temperature is, cupcakes usually take between 18 to 22 minutes. If your cupcakes bake quicker than 18 minutes or longer than 22 minutes, it's probably best to check if your oven needs calibration.
What other buttercream or frosting can I use for these brown sugar cupcakes?
Oh, these cupcakes are delicious with just about any frosting. I have shared with you more than 30 different buttercream flavors here on the blog but these are just a few suggestions.
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Scrumptious Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 4 oz (113 g) Butter (1 stick, 1/2 cup) unsalted, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (110 g) Light brown sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) Fresh cream
- 1 1/2 cup (190 g) Cake flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
For the Buttercream
- 4 oz (113 g) Unsalted butter (1/2 cup, 1 stick) room temperature
- 1/2 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
Prepare
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
- Prepare baking cups or cupcake wrappers in a muffin tray.
- Sift flour with salt and baking powder.
Make the Batter
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- Next, add cream and flour mix in three batches.
- Lastly, add vanilla.
- Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the batter evenly between 12 cupcakes wraps or 10 baking cups.
Bake the Cupcakes
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Chill cupcakes completely before you decorate.
Make the Buttercream
- Place the brown sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times.
- Cream the butter, cream, and sugar until light and fluffy.
- When all the brown sugar has dissolved.
- Add the powder sugar.
- Lastly, add vanilla.
Pipe the Buttercream
- Place buttercream into a piping bag with your favorite piping tip and pipe a swirl.
- Alternatively, use a spatula to create a dome on the cupcake.
- I like to sprinkle them with some brown sugar as well.
Recipe Notes
For Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cupcakes or Chocolate Brown Sugar Cupcakes.
- Add 1/2 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.
- 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 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.
Equipment
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
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Jarry
Made these last week and they were such a hit. My kids birthday party. I actually stumbled upon your recipe because I had to make cupcakes and had no white sugar in the house. But now I'm going to make these over and over again. We love it. Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Jarry. So happy you enjoyed this recipe. I do love brown sugar in my cupcakes. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback.
Connie
Veena,
I was never so excited to stumble across your page. Your recipes are "Amazing". I'm anxious to try this Brown Sugar Cupcake recipe however, in your list of ingredients you mentioned brown sugar (powder) in the frosting. I have not heard that before. Where can I find it, maybe on Amazon? ...
Veena Azmanov
Hey Connie, As I said in the instructions - just pulse in the food processor to powder the brown sugar a bit so it mixes well in the buttercream. I have explained it more in my ingredients and substitutes. Thanks Let me know if you have any more questions.
Miranda
I made these cupcakes the other day. The cake turned out fantastic! But the frosting was disappointing, it didn’t look anything like the picture. I’m not sure what happened, but at least it still tasted good.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Miranda. Glad you enjoyed your cupcakes. Can you explain what you mean by didn't look like the picture? The color of the frosting will depend on the color of the brown sugar you use, as I have explained in the post. You have to whip the frosting well or it won't hold.
Tasha
Hi your brown sugar cuocake you said fresh cream is that sour cream or cream chez what kind of fresh cream
Veena Azmanov
Yes, that fresh whipping cream, not sour cream.
Ashley
Are these cupcakes amenable to filling? I wanted to pipe in a custard-like filling, was just curious
Veena Azmanov
Yes you can pipe a custard filling - Always pipe filling before you chill your cupcakes. SO cool them completely; fill then chill. Chilling tends to make the texture firm so filling does not really get absorbed. I hope that helps
Lisanne Soares
You just made baking feel easy ..Easy and delicious !! Thanks for the recipe.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Lisanne
Neha Das
Made these for a tea party a few days ago and everyone loved it. I made another batch of these again cos we all loved it so much.. Never knew that brown sugar would take these cupcakes to another level.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Neha. So glad to hear that
Aashna Singh
Love your blog. My kids love these cupcakes, their simply easy and delicious.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you !
Emma Jonathan
Made this for my little daughter and she says mama these are the best cupcakes you've ever made .. I'm so thankful to you for sharing such lovely recipes .. Love u !!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Emma !
Sulekha Nair
I tried these and my kids loved it ..
Veena Azmanov
Thank you !
Anna NIckson
U have the finest recipes ..
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Anna