Ah, chocolate, the most ubiquitous gift given for
Valentine’s Day. I do enjoy it myself, but perhaps it’s time to kick chocolate
to the curb and spice this holiday up a bit. With red hot cinnamon candies.
Why cinnamon? It started with the discovery that
there were some left-over red hot candies in my cupboard, after my younger
daughter made hot drink mixes for friends during the Christmas break. They are
not something normally eaten very quickly around here, so I started thinking
about what I could make with them.
Cinnamon lovers might use red hots for decorating baked goods, but I wanted to go a bit farther, by incorporating them into a treat. I suppose cookies would be a good option, especially the sugar variety. They are probably the best option if you want to leave the candies whole. However, for some reason, cookies didn’t occur to me. White cupcakes with cream cheese frosting seemed the perfect starting point for a cinnamon experiment.
The cupcakes pictured here are from the second
batch, made for my older daughter’s co-workers. The first batch I made, while
delicious, needed a tweak. The frosting turned out great. Half a cup of
cinnamon candies pulverized to powder in the blender was enough for the intense
pink color and plenty of cinnamon flavor. The candy powder replaced half a cup
of powdered sugar. The white cupcakes were another matter. There was nothing
wrong with the batter itself, but it can’t support hard candies, even small
ones, while baking. I left them whole, hoping for a white and red polka dot
effect, along with crunchy bits of hot cinnamon. Most of the candies sank to
the bottom. Of course, they melted and stuck to the muffin papers, making it a
bit difficult to free the cupcakes from their wrappers. I suppose coating the
candies in flour might keep them from sinking, but the hard, shiny shells would
need to be wet for the flour to adhere. Seems that would become a sticky mess
before they make it into the batter. Another possibility would be to sprinkle
on top of the cakes before baking and hope they stop sinking before the batter
sets. For my second batch, I opted to make pink cakes by pulverizing more of
the candy and replacing the some of the sugar with it.
To give credit where due, the recipes I played with
came from one of BH&G pink checkerboard cookbooks. (I believe it’s a 2008
copy.) Part of the reason I chose the white cake recipe was its use of egg
whites. I had a container of them in my refrigerator which needed to be used.
Four egg whites are about the equivalent of ½ c. in case you have the same
problem I did. (Didn’t remember how many yolks I used.)
Before measuring the candy for your cupcakes,
pulverize into a powder first. Get 2 packages and grind one. You will need 1
cup total of candy “sugar”. Grind just enough to give you that amount. It is OK
if there are small pieces. Then you can still get a speckled effect in the cake
and frosting. Any leftover candies can
be used to decorate the finished cupcakes. Look for red hots in the candy isle.
(Brachs Cinnamon Imperials) They may be cheaper there, than the bottled ones
sold in the baking isle for decorating (Cinnamon drops). Check the unit price
on the bottom of the grocer’s shelf label. It’s the best way to compare prices.
In case you don’t find them right away, check the top shelf. That’s where my
grocery store hides them in the candy isle.
Cake
½ c. Butter
1 c. Sugar
½.c Cinnamon Candy
“Sugar”
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 Egg Whites
1 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Baking Soda
½ tsp. Salt
2 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 1/3 c. Buttermilk
Note: I prefer one-bowl
baking, so I cheat and mix leaveners and salt into the wet ingredients before
adding flour.
Preheat oven to 350°F
& prepare your muffin pan (12 cups). Use a large mixing bowl to beat butter
30 seconds. Add sugars and vanilla. Manipulate your mixer without power to
start blending the butter & sugars. (Or use lowest setting on a stand mixer.)
Otherwise you might get a nose full of cinnamon. Once at least half of the
sugar is worked into the butter, it’s safe to use power. Incorporate egg whites
one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in baking powder, soda and salt.
Alternately, stir in flour and buttermilk. Divide batter into prepared pan(s).
When filled about 2/3, yield should be 21 cupcakes. Bake 20-25 minutes. Check
center cakes with a toothpick. If it’s clean, remove them from the oven. Allow
to cool at least 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool completely before
frosting.
Cream
Cheese Frosting
1 (8) oz. pkg. Soft
Cream Cheese
½ c. Softened Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
½ c. Cinnamon Candy “Sugar”
5 c. Powdered Sugar
Beat cream cheese,
butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugars until the
frosting reaches the consistency you desire. If it becomes too stiff, add milk
a little at a time.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
The Project Queen
