Sucre à la Crème Cupcakes

Sucre à la Crème, absolutely delicious. I came across this delight by my now husband, then friend, he brought some in for Christmas and shared a piece with me.

For those of you who are not familiar with Sucre à la Crème, here is the to-the-point definition on Wikipedia:

The sugar in the cream is a delicacy made of cream to 35% of sugar and brown sugar, all churned during cooking.

Popular in Québec, this delicacy is usually served in small cubes granules during the holiday season, that is to say during the days preceding and following Christmas.

How I came about this recipe... Just after we were engaged (Christmastime), I asked him if he would make me another batch of Sucre à la Crème and in return he had made me a double batch. Uh WOW, as much as I enjoy this delightful fudge, that is enough for an army.

I thought to myself, what am I to do with this mass amount of fudge (aside from share the wealth - which I did) I decided to turn it into a cupcake. These days you see all sorts of flavours, so why not give it a shot.

Continuing with the flavours of Québec, I decided to add some maple syrup to the glaze before topping it off with a generous morsel of Sucre à la Crème.

Sucre à la Crème Cupcakes
Makes about 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

-Cupcake Batter-

• 1/2 cup Softened Butter (unsalted)
  
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs - Large
• 3/4 cup Self-Rising Flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbls. All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• Approx. 1/2 cup chopped Sucre à la Crème (melted)
  

Glaze:

• 1-3/4 cup Icing Sugar
• 1/4 cup Softened Butter (unsalted)
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 tbls. Maple Syrup
• Pinch of Salt
  

Decoration:

• Additional cubed Sucre à la Crème fudge for topping (about 1 piece per cupcake)
• Sprinkling of Cinnamon

-Directions-

Preheat Oven to 350.

1. Place butter and sugar into a bowl and cream until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Add melted Sucre à la Crème into the mix and incorporate well. (To melt Sucre à la Crème, place in the microwave for intervals of 15 seconds until reaching a caramel consistency)
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Combine All-purpose and self-rising flours and place aside.
   
5. Add flour and milk in an alternating cycle until all the flour and milk have been added and the batter has completely been mixed and fluffy.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Spoon into a lined cupcake pan and bake for 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven).

Cupcakes will brown nicely and be soft to the touch, use a toothpick to check if it's fully baked (the toothpick will come out clean).

While you are waiting for the cupcakes to cool, lets make the icing.

1. Place Icing Sugar, Milk and Vanilla Extract in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add Softened Butter, Pinch of Salt and Maple Syrup and whisk until a smooth consistency is reached.

Once the glaze has been created, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes, checking on it every so often to mix.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, slowly spread a small amount of glaze on the cupcakes (it may drizzle down the sides) and and top with morsel of Sucre à la Crème fudge.

Sprinkle with Cinnamon and voila, Sucre à la Crème Cupcakes are here.

Hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as I have!

Cheers,
Naho @ Scrumptious Foods

Vanilla Cupcakes with Pink Whipped Cream and Pink & White Sprinkles

Another pink treat from the baby shower earlier this month. Vanilla Cupcakes (Magnolia Bakery Recipe) topped with pink sweetened whipped cream and pink and white sprinkles.

Cheers,
Naho

Treats @ The Baby Shower
Originally uploaded by Nahren

Original Recipes

I must apologize for being two weeks late on my blog posts. It's been rather hectic the last little bit and there is more to come. With it being wedding and shower season, not to mention upcoming birthdays and the end of the school year, it’s been crazy.

Recently I've wanted to create my own recipes. Many of the things I bake and cook are from various recipes I come across or sometimes just trying it out as a go. I've never really sat down and wrote out a recipe, so a few weeks ago I did.

I created a recipe for Sucre a la Crème Coffee Cake with a Maple Glaze; mind you I created them like cupcakes to have an individual feel. It's not bad, but it could use some tweaking, I will post the pics and the recipe when I get a chance this evening. Next I'm thinking I'd like to make a cookie recipe!

Last night I decided to bake some Chocolate Chip Banana Bread from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. I adore this series of cookbooks; they have such wonderful recipes that never fail. I will have to go home and take photos of the banana bread and post them on our Scrumptious Foods flickr group as well as the next blog entry. The banana bread was moist, delicious and the chocolate chips gave little bit of decadence!

Do you have any original recipes of your own or any you are hoping to create? Let us know and don't forget to post photos @ our flickr group, we'd love to see them!

Cheers,
Naho @ Scrumptious Foods