Cupcaketastic's Awesome Maple Cupcakes

*Not my image... it's Cupcaketastic's!

Delicious Maple Cupcakes

Cupcaketastic posted this awesome, delicious recipe for creamy maple syrup cupcakes. The original recipe 'Maple Walnut Delights' in Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman.

I don't like walnuts, so they got scrapped. I also mixed the syrup and the milk together before adding them to the batter. I don't know that this would make any appreciable difference or not. I beat the hell out of the butter and sugar, and I  mixed the batter thoroughly after each egg addition. My batter was smooth and creamy and I got 18 perfect cupcakes from this recipe. 

Please, for the love of maple, DO NOT attempt this recipe with table syrup. It's not worth it. It won't taste good. The maple flavour in this recipe is lovely; you get the scent of maple when you put the cupcake to your lips, but it's not overpowering in the cake itself. You do get a nice maple aftertaste though. Trust me, real maple syrup is the only way to go for this recipe. 

Making the cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup/1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternatively add dry ingredients and syrup and milk, blending well after each addition. (Fold in walnuts).

Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a tested into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

You'll notice on Cupcaketastic's version there is a recipe for maple meringue icing. I skipped this, not being a huge fan of meringue, but if you try it please let me know how it worked out. I topped these babies with my maple buttercream instead, and sprinkled some maple flakes for looks.