I had so much fun creating these adorable cupcakes! I used a fun new product that I just love! I replaced the milk and vanilla in my vanilla cake recipe with Natural Bliss Honey Vanilla Nestlé® Coffee-mate® Creamer. It's my new favorite "secret" ingredient. Learn more about their new Spring lineup, here.
These cupcakes were so fun to make.
RECIPE
(Adapted from a recipe found here on Food Network)
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup milk + 1/2 cup Coffee-mate® natural bliss® in Honey Pecan
- 20-24 mini terra cotta pots (or you can make several in pots, then make the rest in traditional cupcake liners).
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your mini terra cotta pots by rinsing them with water, wiping them dry, then wiping with a paper towel sprayed with non-stick spray or butter. Feel free to add flour to the insides of the pots too. If your pots have holes in the bottoms, feel free to line them with mini muffin liners.
2. Whisk 3 cups flour, the baking powder and salt in a bowl until combined. Beat 2 sticks butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. (The mixture may look separated at this point.) Beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the creamer and milk, beginning and ending with flour, until just smooth.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared pots - ONLY FILL HALF WAY WITH BATTER or your project will be ruined! Bake the terra cotta on a baking tray for 14-18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely then get ready to decorate.
4. Pipe a swirl of chocolate frosting with a round icing tip, then add crushed up chocolate sandwich cookies on top to resemble "dirt". To make the cactus cupcake toppers, I simply found some 3D cactus stickers at the craft store, and stuck them onto toothpicks.
These would be so adorable for a garden party, birthday party, baby or wedding shower, and even Cinco de Mayo! You'll love them, and make everyone smile who gets to enjoy them.
Recipe Notes - If you do not want to bake the cupcakes directly into the pots, feel free to bake the cupcakes in traditional cupcake liners, then place them down into the terra cotta
Learn more about Coffee-mate® natural bliss® Creamer here.
That taste of pecan comes through so well, and I would recommend using this product anywhere milk or flavoring would be used. I had the pleasure of making some DELICIOUS Honey Butter Pecan Swirl Cookies recently and they were a big hit! See the link below.
