Description
These spiced fall cupcakes are a riff on the classic Thanksgiving casserole. These days, I tend to like savory sweet potato dishes with the meal, but marshmallowy cupcakes make a terrific fall dessert! Store any leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup milk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 egg whites
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup marshmallow creme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
- Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add room-temperature eggs one at a time
- allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Blend in vanilla extract and sweet potatoes.
- Whisk flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- cinnamon
- ginger
- nutmeg
- and cloves in a bowl. Add half the flour to the sweet potato mixture
- stirring just until incorporated. Blend in the milk and the remaining flour mixture.
- Scoop batter into prepared cupcake pan and bake in preheated oven until tops spring back when touched lightly with a finger and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean
- 18 to 22 minutes. Cool on rack.
- To make frosting
- combine white sugar
- cream of tartar
- a pinch of salt
- egg whites
- and cold water in a heatproof mixing bowl. Set the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is very hot to the touch and stiff peaks have formed
- 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat 1 minute more. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and marshmallow creme and beat until combined.
- To frost the cupcakes
- fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip with frosting; pipe mini marshmallow-shaped dots all over the cupcakes. Alternatively
- use a knife and frost them generously with lots of swoops and swirls.
- Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler.
- Arrange 3 or 4 cupcakes on a baking sheet and place them in the oven under the broiler. Toast until the frosting has started to brown
- about 90 seconds (check every 20 seconds and rearrange the baking sheet
- if necessary). Repeat with the remaining cupcakes until all are toasted.
Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins
Servings: 12