Maple Pancake Cupcakes with Strawberry Fluff Frosting
These Maple Pancake Cupcakes with Strawberry Fluff Frosting are filled with maple pastry cream to taste just like a warm stack of pancakes. Strawberry fluff buttercream frosting finishes off these indulgent cupcakes.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Chill Time1 hourhr
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Maple Cupcakes, Maple Pastry Cream, Strawberry Fluff Buttercream
Preheat oven to 350Fdegrees and adjust oven rack to middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a small mixing bowl, add the maple syrup, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
Add the liquid ingredients and the melted butter to the dry ingredients and gently mix until no dry streaks remain. Using a spoon or a small ice cream scoop (or cookie scoop), evenly distribute the batter to the muffin cups - filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Maple Pastry Cream
While the cupcakes are baking, make the pastry cream.
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and 3/4 cup of the milk over medium-high heat until the liquid begins to simmer and bubbles around the edges of the pan.
While the milk is heating, in a medium mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and whisk together until thoroughly combined.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, and very slowly stream in about half of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This tempers the eggs and whisking constantly makes sure the eggs do not scramble.
Pour the tempered mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium-high heat. Cook the pastry cream until it thickens and begins to bubble - about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla bean paste and butter and stir until the butter melts.
Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh strainer set over a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap set directly on top of the pastry cream, to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Strawberry Fluff Buttercream
In a blender or food processor, grind the freeze-dried strawberries with the powdered sugar and pulse until the strawberries turn to powder. This will only take a few seconds. Set aside.
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it is smooth - about 3-5 minutes. Slowly add in the strawberry powder and milk, and mix until incorporated and smooth.
Add in the marshmallow cream and mix on low speed until all ingredients are combined and homogenous - about 3 minutes.
Transfer the frosting to a small bowl, cover, and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Assembling the Cupcakes
Once the cupcakes and pastry cream are cool, carve out small holes in the center of the cupcake using a paring knife, about 1/2-inch wide and mid-way down.
Fill a piping bag with the end snipped off, with the pastry cream. Pipe into the cupcake holes.
Fill another piping bag fitted with a large round tip, with the frosting. Pipe into a circle onto each cupcake. You can also frost the cupcakes using an offset spatula.
Optional - if you want to add the mini-pancake decoration on the top. Make pancakes using a ready-made mix, according to the box instructions. Making 2-inch round pancakes, and add the pancake on top of the cupcake, then frost.