Red Hot Lover’s Cupcakes

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