Category: Cakes + Cupcakes

Butterfinger Cupcakes

butterfingercupcakesThe Butterfinger vs. the Clark bar: do you have an opinion? As a Pittsburgher, I’m more of a Clark bar person, though I’m not really that much of a candy bar girl despite being a baker and really fond of sweet things. Also, if you’re reading this blog and don’t know what a Clark bar is…it’s like a Butterfinger but more mellow in flavor, and used to be made here in the ‘Burgh.

This recipe came from Baker by Nature, and it’s pretty tasty. I’d like to do a Clark bar version, so stay tuned for that sometime. Also, a note about the frosting: I added more chopped up Butterfinger bars than originally called for, and once again, like my cookies & cream cupcakes, couldn’t pipe it through an open star tip like I’d planned. No worries, though – just slather this frosting onto your cupcakes and call it a day. It’s delicious no matter what it looks like.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup very hot water

For the frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons whole milk
  • 6 tablespoons chopped Butterfinger candy bars
  • Chopped Butterfinger pieces, for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; my recipe made 24 cupcakes.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a small saucepan over very low heat (or in a microwave-safe bowl), melt peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool just slightly. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively in two batches, whisking to just combine. Stir in hot water.

Fill cupcake wells with 3 tablespoons of batter, about 3/4 full. Bake for 16 – 18 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and remove cupcakes from tins; cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat peanut butter and butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes to fully blend. Add powdered sugar and beat to incorporate fully; add vanilla extract and milk, then stir in Butterfinger pieces. Frost cupcakes by hand (or pipe them if you can!) and top with Butterfinger pieces.

Butterbeer Cupcakes

butterbeercupcakesLast week Mike and I visited Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley at Universal Studios in Orlando, and it was everything I, a massive Harry Potter fan, wanted it to be. We rode the Hogwarts Express, bought wands at Ollivander’s (seriously what I’m going to do with a wand now I have no idea), and had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, complete with a butterbeer.

This batch of butterbeer cupcakes – which I found over at Mama Needs Cake – is both delicious and enormous. My recipe yielded 33 cupcakes, far more than the two dozen I expected. I also tweaked the frosting recipe to be closer to one I’ve used before, with my own homemade butterscotch sauce, but you can use butterscotch ice cream topping if that’s easier.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup butterscotch chips
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup milk

For the frosting

  • 1 1/4 cups (20 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 6-7 tablespoons butterscotch sauce, plus more for drizzling
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.  In a small saucepan, melt butterscotch chips and water over low heat, stirring until smooth.

In a mixer, cream eggs and vegetable oil, then beat in sugars and melted butterscotch chips. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beating until just combined.

Fill cupcake wells half full and bake for 13-15 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and remove cupcakes from tins; cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat butter on medium speed for 1 minute, then add powdered sugar and beat on low until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter. Add butterscotch sauce and salt and beat to combine.

Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip and pipe swirls onto each cupcake. Drizzle with more butterscotch sauce if serving immediately; if not, reserve additional butterscotch and drizzle just before serving. Makes about 33 cupcakes.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

cookiesandcreamcupcake

Our intern, Sarah, returns to college in a few weeks. We adore her, and will sincerely miss her in the office. These cookies & cream cupcakes are for her farewell tomorrow; she’s an Oreo fan, so what better way to send her off than with an Oreo-inspired cupcake? 

A word about this frosting, other than the fact that it probably has about 8,239 calories in it; the more Oreo crumbs you add, the tougher it gets to pipe. The original recipe (there are tons of them online) called for about 6 crushed Oreos, but that didn’t seem like enough to me, so I doubled it. I’m glad I did, even though it meant having to frost these cupcakes by hand, which wasn’t the look I’d intended. They taste amazing though, and that’s really all that matters.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water

For the frosting

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 18 Oreo Double Stuf cookies, divided
  • 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; this recipe makes 13-15 cupcakes, depending on how much batter you place in each well. Take 12 Oreo cookies and crush them into crumbs; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well-blended, then make three wells for the wet ingredients.

Place vinegar, vanilla, and vegetable oil into the wells; add water and mix until the batter is smooth. The mixture will bubble up slightly when you add the water, so just keep mixing until you get a smooth consistency in the batter, which will be fairly thin.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill cupcake wells about half full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat butter and powdered sugar on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Beat in vanilla, Oreo crumbs, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream; add more if needed to make a smooth consistency that’s not too stiff, or it’ll be difficult to spread.

Frost cupcakes by hand – I didn’t have any luck piping this because the Oreo crumbs can get stuck in frosting tips. Cut remaining Oreos in half and add one half to each cupcake if serving immediately; if not, add garnish just before you serve them so the cookies don’t get soggy from the buttercream. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Marble Cupcakes

marblecupcakeMany people in my life have been to the beach in the last few weeks. The beach makes me think of ice cream, specifically those chocolate-vanilla swirl soft serve cones, and this is as close as I can get at the moment: a marble cupcake with a chocolate-vanilla buttercream swirl.

The cupcake recipe itself comes from Sally’s Baking Addiction and it’s delicious on its own; so delicious, in fact, I think the frostings are kind of too much for it. I used my vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream, which are also delicious on their own, but I think they’re a little too much for the cupcake. Next time I think I’ll use my cocoa frosting instead, so stay tuned.

Ingredients

  • 1 2/3 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 3/4 plus 1 tablespoon milk, divided
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 batch vanilla buttercream
  • 1 batch chocolate buttercream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; my batch made 15 cupcakes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, then add sugar and stir to combine; mixture will be grainy. Refrigerate for 1 minute, then remove and add egg, yogurt, 3/4 cup milk, and vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture until no lumps remain.

Remove 3/4 cup of batter and place in a small bowl; stir in cocoa powder and remaining tablespoon of milk. Batter will be thicker than that of the vanilla mixture.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop portions of vanilla batter into cupcake tins; top with a tablespoon of chocolate batter, then another scoop of vanilla, until all batter is used. Swirl if desired or just let the batters do their own thing, which is what I did.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and place cupcakes on wire racks to cool completely.

To make vanilla buttercream, place butter and salt in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes using the paddle attachment. Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla extract and beat; add milk if necessary, but you want this frosting to be thicker in consistency so it’s easier to pipe along with the chocolate buttercream.

To make chocolate buttercream, place butter and salt in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes using the paddle attachment. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until the sugar and cocoa are fully incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla extract and beat; add milk if necessary, but like with the vanilla, you want this frosting to be thicker in consistency.

Fit an 18-inch piping bag with a large open star tip (I use the Wilton 1M) and carefully fill half of the bag with vanilla buttercream and the other half with the chocolate buttercream so the frostings are side by side vertically in the bag. Pipe swirls onto cupcakes; you’ll have some frosting left over that you can use for other treats.

Rolo Cupcakes

rolocupcakesLast week’s pecan turtle cupcakes left me with about a cup of caramel sauce. Homemade caramel lasts about three weeks in the fridge, and while you could pour it over ice cream or drink it straight from the bottle, I decided to make chocolate caramel buttercream with mine. Think of a Rolo, probably the second best candy invention behind the Reese’s peanut butter cup, but in buttercream form.

I wish I’d baked a chocolate cupcake instead – I think the overall flavor would have been better – but these are pretty delicious.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

For the frosting

  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Scant 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • About 3/4 cup caramel sauce
  • 10 Rolos

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake tin with paper liners; this recipe yields 10 cupcakes.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until very light and fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine, scraping down your bowl, then add vanilla and beat to combine.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk in alternate batches, starting and ending with the flour and scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Batter will be kind of fluffy. Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into prepared pans, filling about half-full.

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. My cupcakes were done around 17 minutes. Remove from oven and remove cupcakes from tin; cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt on low speed until the sugar and cocoa powder are completely incorporated into the butter. Add caramel sauce a few tablespoons at a time and beat to combine, scraping your bowl well along the way. Taste as you go; this is a fairly subtle flavor so you can go heavier on the caramel than you might think.

Fit a piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip and pipe swirls of buttercream onto cupcakes; top with a Rolo.

Pecan Turtle Cupcakes

pecanturtlecupcakePecans are good for you. Probably less so when combined with chocolate and caramel like in a pecan turtle, but let’s not get too technical here. These treats are a cupcake version of the turtle, with a chocolate cupcake base, caramel buttercream, toasted pecans, and milk chocolate drizzle. Wildly delicious.

I made my own caramel sauce for the frosting, but you can use caramel ice cream topping to save time. It’s not as sweet as you’ll expect, so add your caramel slowly and taste along the way to make sure you have the flavor you want. Whatever you do though, toast your pecans. They taste infinitely better when toasted instead of raw.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water

For the frosting and decoration

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • About 1/3 cup caramel sauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted and cooled

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; this recipe makes 15 cupcakes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well-blended, then make three wells for the wet ingredients.

Place vinegar, vanilla, and vegetable oil into the wells; add water and mix until the batter is smooth. The mixture will bubble up slightly when you add the water, so just keep mixing until you get a smooth consistency in the batter, which will be fairly thin.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill cupcake wells about half full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, beat butter and powdered sugar on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Add caramel sauce and vanilla and beat to combine completely. Fit a large piping bag with a large closed star tip (I use the Wilton 1M) and pipe swirls of frosting onto each cupcake. Top with three toasted pecans and drizzle with melted chocolate chips.

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

pbcupcupcakesThe Reese’s peanut butter cup is a work of art. And I like to think these cupcakes are, too.

Last week as I scrolled through Pinterest I found several peanut butter cup cupcake recipes; some have a peanut butter cup in the cupcake itself, but mine do not. This recipe comes from Live Well Bake Often, and while the cupcakes themselves aren’t as chocolaty as I’d hoped, the overall treat is pretty delicious. Also, I could eat this frosting with a spoon straight from the bowl and will probably use it again on brownies someday. Someday might be later this afternoon, so stay tuned. Note: For this recipe I measured by weight, rather than volume, so I’ve included both types of measurements below. 

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 1 cup (125 grams) flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (30 grams) cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

For the frosting and decoration

  • 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (250 grams) creamy peanut butter
  • 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons (45 ml) heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 full-sized Reese’s peanut butter cups, cut in half

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; this recipe makes 16 cupcakes.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in brown sugar and granulated sugar, then add vegetable oil, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla and stir to combine. Add boiling water and espresso powder and stir to combine completely; batter will be very thin.

Using a ladle, fill cupcake wells just over half full with batter. Bake for 16-20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the tins for 1 minute, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, beat butter and peanut butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat to incorporate, then beat in heavy cream and vanilla. Fit a large piping bag with a large open star tip (I used the Wilton M1) and pipe swirls of frosting onto cupcakes. Top each with half a peanut butter cup. Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature.

S’mores Cupcakes

smorecupcakeHappy Father’s Day! My dad is no longer with us, and now that I think about it, he never took me camping. But camping seems like fatherly pursuit, and if you camp, you’ve got to have s’mores.

This recipe combines a cupcake base I found at Life Love and Sugar and a frosting recipe I’d used in the past, plus some Hershey’s and graham cracker pieces. A word of caution about the cupcake batter: it is literal liquid, and therefore difficult to transfer from your bowl to your cupcake tins. I used a two-inch cookie scoop for that, but next time I’ll probably transfer my batter to a measuring cup and pour. Another note for next time: the original recipe called for adding 1 1/2 tablespoons of graham cracker mixture for the base, but I think it needs more. I’ve adjusted the instructions below to what I think it should be ratio-wise – at least two tablespoons. We’ll see how it goes next time.

Ingredients

For the graham cracker base

  • 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs*
  • 5 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 5 tablespoons sugar

For the cupcakes

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting and decoration

  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 7-ounce jar marshmallow fluff
  • 18 Hershey’s pieces
  • 1/2 graham cracker, broken into pieces

*This means about 8 – 9 rectangles. You can process them in a food processor or put them in a zip-top bag and beat them with a rolling pin, which is what I did and is much more fun.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line cupcake tins with paper liners. The original cupcake recipe said it makes 15 – 18 cupcakes, but I had some batter left over so I think it could make about 22 if you adjusted the graham cracker base. Anyway, start with 18 liners.

Make the crust: In a medium bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Place about 2 tablespoons of mixture into each cupcake well and press down – I used my tart tamper (yes, that is an actual piece of baking equipment) but you can just use your fingers or the back of a spoon. Bake crust for 7 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

While crust is baking, make the cupcake batter: combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add egg, buttermilk, and vegetable oil and mix to combine, then add boiling water and vanilla and stir to combine completely. The batter will be literal liquid.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop or other less messy transfer vessel, fill cupcake wells about half full with batter. Bake for 17 – 20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place cupcakes on a wire rack to cool before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat butter and 1 cup powdered sugar until the sugar is fully incorporated. Add vanilla extract and marshmallow fluff, then beat to combine. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat to combine.

Place frosting in a piping bag with a large plain tip (I used the Wilton 1A) and pipe blobs of frosting onto each cupcake. You’ll have about a half-cup of frosting left over to slather on graham crackers, eat directly from the bag, etc.

Top each cupcake with a Hershey’s brick and if you’re serving them immediately, a sliver of broken graham cracker. If you’re not serving right away, store cupcakes in the fridge and add the graham cracker sliver right before you serve them – the graham cracker bits will get soggy from the frosting over time. Makes 18.

Apple Cider Donut Cake

apple cider donut cakePinterest is the ultimate rabbit hole for me, taking me down winding paths of cookies, pies, cakes, and all manner of treats. Some recipes turn out well while others leave a lot to be desired, and I’m happy to say that this apple cider donut cake from Broma Bakery is one that turned out very well.

The flavor profile is absolutely delicious; apple and cinnamon, with a hint of nutmeg. I added nutmeg to my sugar coating as well for an extra kick, because it’s one of my favorite spices. While coating the cake is a messy business, it’s well worth the trouble. Alternatively, you could just whip up a cider glaze for an easier option. As you can see in the photo below, even Tucker was interested. Much to his chagrin, he didn’t get a slice.

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 2 3/4 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 2/3 cup applesauce
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 12 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature

For the coating

  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a standard 10-cup Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; set aside. In a medium glass measuring cup, combine applesauce and apple cider; set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle (or whisk, as the original recipe is written) attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs and mix to combine. Add flour mixture and applesauce mixture in three batches alternatively, mixing to just combine between each.

Pour batter into Bundt pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for about 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

While the cake is still warm, brush it with melted butter. Stir together coating ingredients of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sprinkle over the top, then press into the sides of the cake. This is a bit messy, but it’s worth it. Serve warm or allow to cool and serve at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Makes about 16 servings.

tucker with donut cakeAt left, Tucker lingers in the kitchen hoping for a taste of what to him looks like one giant donut. His begging endeavors proved unsuccessful. 

Cinnamon Crisp Coffee Cake

cinnamoncrispcoffeecakeEvery year, King Arthur Baking – one of my favorite product makers and recipe sources – publishes their “recipe of the year.” For 2023, it’s this cinnamon crisp coffee cake, an aromatic creation that I already plan to tweak.

No offense to the fine folks at KAB; they are genius bakers and know far more about baking than I ever will. But the recipe includes a cocoa-cinnamon filling, and for me, it was an odd combination. Next time, I think I’d like to use some nutmeg, or maybe some orange zest. But that’s the beauty of baking – once you find a good base recipe, you can tweak it however you like to get the flavors you want.

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon*
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

For the crumb topping

  • 1 cup flour
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon*
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cake

  • 2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk

For the glaze

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • 2-3 teaspoons water

*If using regular cinnamon, increase quantity to 1 tablespoon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 baking tin with parchment paper, extending over the sides.

Make your filling layer: Combine sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder and set aside.

Make your crumb topping: Combine flour, sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add cubed butter and vanilla and rub in with your fingers until no dry spots remain; you should have irregular crumbs varying in size.

Make your batter: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add butter and mix on low speed until sandy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and eggs until no dry spots remain; scrape down your bowl, then slowly pour in buttermilk with the mixer running on low speed and mix until batter is smooth.

Pour about 1 1/2 cups of batter into the parchment-lined tin; top with filling in an even layer. Spoon remaining batter over the filling and use an offset spatula to smooth it into an even layer; some of your filling will probably peek through the top of the batter, and that’s okay. Top with crumb mixture, pressing gently to help it stick.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool to room temperature, then prepare glaze: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and cinnamon; add enough water to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake. Store at room temperature for a few days; this cake did dry out for me a bit faster than I’d expected, but I think it’s because I kept it in a cake dome instead of tightly wrapped. Makes about 8-10 servings, depending on how generously you slice it.