sweetcupcakes, potato cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting

By á-27150

I only have so many hours in the day to dive into other people's cookbooks, which is one of my great pleasures. I love to bake vicar-
iously through other people's recipes, and when I picked up The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook (Artisan Press, 2012), by Cheryl
and Griffin Day, I knew I was in for quite a treat. I enjoyed spending time with the Days, and by the time I was done reading the
book it had a porcupine's worth of papers sticking out of it, marking recipes I wanted to try. This is one of the first I went after,
with Gwen's help, and we very much liked the moist sweetness of the cupcakes wearing their slightly salty caramel frosting tops.
We've cut the amount of butter in the caramel; this is a very soft frosting, and will only pipe if well chilled. -S.R.

Ingredients

• 2 .
• CUPCAKE
• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached
• All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 11/4 cups (9 3/8 ounces) brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (7 ounces) vegetable oil
• 1 pound (1 to 2) sweet potatoes, baked and
• cooled, flesh scraped out and mashed
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk
• CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
• Caramel
• 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) water
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, at
• room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) heavy cream
• Frosting
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room
• temperature
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, at
• room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. line 24 cupcake
cups with paper liners.
For the cupcakes: Whisk together the
flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt,
and spices; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with
the paddle attachment, beat the brown
sugar and eggs on medium speed for 3 to
4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the oil,
sweet potatoes, and orange zest, beating
just until incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, add the
flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the
milk, beginning and ending with the dry
ingredients. -
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl
and mix for 20 seconds more.
Using a muffin scoop, portion the batter
into the prepared pan, filling each about
2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a
tester inserted in the center of a cupcake
comes out clean. Remove from the oven
and cool in the pan for 5 minutes before
tipping out ofthe pan and placing on a
rack to finish cooling completely.
For the frosting: First, make the caramel.
Combine the sugar and water in a medium,
light-colored saucepan and cook over
medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar
is completely dissolved. Using a wet
pastry brush, wash down any crystals
from the sides of the pan. Turn the heat
down to medium and continue to cook,
without stirring, until the syrup becomes
a medium-dark amber caramel, about 10
minutes. Carefully swirl the pan around to
check the color.
Remove the pan from the heat and imme-
diately stir in the butter and heavy cream.
The mixture will boil and sputter; be care-
ful as you do this. Transfer the caramel to
a heat-proof measuring cup; set aside to
cool to just barely warm.
To make the frosting: Beat the cream
cheese, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl
on medium speed until smooth, 2 to 3 min-
utes. With a mixer on low speed, gradually
add the confectioners' sugar, beating
until light and fluffy. Add the caramel and
continue to beat until smooth and creamy,
4 to 5 minutes. Yield: 24 cupcakes