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Hello!

Thank you for the amazing 8 years here at A Baked Creation, we can't thank you enough for the memories! But we've decided to move over to a new site - Sincerely, Syl. Please join us there for future posts on all the things you loved here!

Sincerely,
Syl

Monday, July 12, 2010

Butterscotch and Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes



This is what I did when Howard was watching the World Cup.

Butter.
Buttermilk.
Butterscotch.
Buttercream.

Please don't run away in fright. It's not that buttery! Okay, maybe it is, a little. I originally intended to enter the Sweetest Kitchen's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge #1. But, since my fiddling with a recipe didn't work and the tea wasn't the dominant flavour, I decided not to. So maybe next time, I'm really looking forward to seeing what's in store next (click here to find out more about the challenge)!



Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Caprial's Desserts
(Makes about 36 cupcakes)

3 cups of flour
2 cups of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup of buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup of Earl Grey tea
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cupcake liners and pans ready.
  2. Using your stand mixer, is the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa on low speed.
  3. Add in the oil and buttermilk, mix on medium speed until well combined.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low.
  5. Finally, add the tea (I used two teabags and steeped it quite a bit) and vanilla extract until well combined. Evenly divide your batter into the liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.
From the original recipe, I used brown sugar instead, it was suppose to be 2 1/2 cups of sugar, but I didn't want it too sweet. One thing I do regret cutting back on was the baking soda - there were originally 1 1/2 tablespoons of it - which would help it rise. As a result, these cupcakes turned out very dense. They didn't rise very much, I usually fill the cupcake liners to about 3/4 and the cupcake didn't even pass the top of the liner. Also, instead of the tea, it was suppose to be coffee! But I wanted to see if I could get the tea flavour to come out in a chocolate cake. Not really. I will be searching for tea powders to use instead of teabags in the future.


Butterscotch Buttercream
(Makes enough to frost 30 cupcakes)

1 stick of unsalted butter
3 cups of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of hot Earl Grey tea
1/4 cup of melted butterscotch
  1. Using a stand mixer, combine the butter and icing sugar until smooth.
  2. Melt your butterscotch chips using a double boiler. Or microwave them for very short periods of time and use a spoon to whisk it smooth, making sure there are no lumps.
  3. Add the hot tea into the butter and sugar mixture and mix.
  4. Carefully pour your melted butterscotch in and mix until well combined. There should be a smooth consistency for you to pipe.
I had leftover tea, so I used it for the buttercream. Don't worry, the flavour isn't strong enough to show up. The butterscotch wins!

Couldn't resist putting in these cute little cats for the photos:

Stretch to the left and...


...stretch to the right!

18 comments:

  1. yummm!! sounds delicious! plus those little cats are TOO adorable!

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  2. Gosh these cupcakes sound and look delicious. I dearly wish I could buy butterscotch chocolate here in Australia! Looourve the kitties, I saw some like that in Japan, and really regret not buying them!

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  3. These look and sound really yummy, now if I could only find some butterscotch in the U.K i would be set x

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  4. Aw, sorry it didn't work out for my Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge, but it still looks delicious! I love butterscotch and don't use it enough in my baking.

    Maybe I'll see you in next month's competition! :)

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  5. Jessiker, the little cats are my favourite trinkets sitting in the kitchen right now. =)

    apparentlyjessy, What! I didn't know that you couldn't buy butterscotch chips in Australia. At least you can get the kittens in Japan next time! =)

    How To Be Perfect, I didn't know butterscotch was so rare! Maybe that would make a better contest prize!

    Jamieanne, thanks for hosting the competition, I am looking forward to future cupcake challenges. I don't use butterscotch enough either, this was the first time!

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  6. Oh man, hehe, the photos with the cats are beyond cute! You should submit one of the photos to Epicute!

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  7. Those cats are super adorable! As are the cupcakes. You're right about using tea powder instead, it's way stronger!

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  8. I like the way you think. These sound amazing!

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  9. I like the sound of this butterscotch buttercream. I have some chips leftover that I could use with this recipe!

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  10. Amy Kelly, Thanks for the suggestion! I've never thought of submitting my photos to Epicute before!

    Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes], Will go with tea powder next time! I should have known better... even for green tea cakes, bakers use the powder!

    whisk-kid, Thank you!

    Memória, I really liked the butterscotch buttercream, good thing I still have the rest of the bag left! I will be using it more often now.

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  11. These are really lovely. I am new to your blog and have taken some time to browse your earlier entries. I'm glad I did. I really like your recipes and the welcoming tone of your blog. I'll be back often. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  12. These sound delicious. And those pictures might be the cutest things I've seen all day.

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  13. These look absolutely delicious! I love everything about it-- the chocolate, the butterscotch, and the cats too!! Cute blog..I'll definitely be back for more recipes :)

    http://madewithlove-t.blogspot.com/

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  14. Mary, grace, and Tiffany - Thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind words!! Loved seeing your blogs too! =)

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  15. Great recipes and great pics!!!

    I'm also into the food blog world, and it would be great if you can take a look at my site and leave me any comment/suggestion.

    Take care and keep posting!

    http://youarecookingblog.com

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  16. stefania.confidential - Thank you ;)

    Maggie - Thank you! You have beautiful photos on your site, keep it up!

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  17. for those of you who don't have butterscotch readily available: (sorry, you'll have to do the conversions yourself. at least this is pretty simple!)
    1/2 cup light brown sugar
    1/4 cup cornstarch
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 water
    1 tablespoon butter

    stir together sugar, salt & cornstarch. stir in water. cook stirring constantly, (i use a regular pot) until mixture thickens & boils.
    blend in butter, & cool.

    that should make a little more than you need for the recipe. hope that helps.

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