The JACOB Cupcake

Here it is...

This cupcake is dedicated to our favorite sweet, dense, and selfless werewolf. You all know how much I love Jacob. I just think he's greatly misunderstood in this whole thing! So here is my culinary ode to him.

I wanted to make a cupcake that was warm an earthy and a total comfort food. The kind of thing that would smell like Grandma baked it and you make you want to snuggle up and take a bite. I wanted to have distinct earthy and spicy flavors, but still be very sweet overall. It needed to remind me of the woods in a way, and also needed a little element of nutty and fun.
It doesn't disappoint. This cupcake is delicious.

Cinnamon Spice Cupcake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
and a Pistachio Burnt Sugar Garnish (or THE JACOB)

Cake
1 box spice cake mix
1/2 cup melted butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 TBS cinnamon


Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
4 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar

Finely chopped pistachios and white sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all cake ingredients together and beat on medium for two minutes. Bake in cupcake liners for about 22 minutes. COOL COMPLETELY

In a small saucepan combine maple syrup and brown sugar, on LOW heat, allow sugar to dissolve and then cool syrup down. In a large bowl whip cream cheese until softened. Add powdered sugar and and syrup mixture a little at a time alternating between them until right consistency is reached. If too thick, add a bit of milk, if too thin, add some more powdered sugar. Pipe onto cool cupcakes and top with chopped pistachios. On a silicone baking mat, spoon small amounts of sugar into little circles. With a kitchen blowtorch, heat sugar until it bubbles and carmelizes into solid shapes. Let cool and garnish top of cupcake. ENJOY!

Are you sick of me, yet? We have one more character to go in our cupcake trilogy. She'll make her debut sometime next week. I have to say--Bella's has been the most challenging and I'm not sure I've really got it right, so we'll have to see...