Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Another Sunday, another cupcake. Feeling less than energetic today I decided I wanted to try to find a simpler cupcake (read: 1-2 steps) and that had all the ingredients that I already had in the house. This one did, with the exception of 1 egg. (It called for 4 eggs, I only had 3 in the house). So...go Sous go. Off the store with Jon, while I took a nap. That's fair, right?

So...all ingredients in hand, well, house; we begun. It is a fairly simple recipe. Mix the dry ingredient: 3 cups of reg flour--this makes it very dense, cause it's a pound cake. Mix the wet ingredients: butter vanilla, eggs and 2 1/4 cups of brown sugar--brown sugar, why you taste so good. Jon kept reaching over me to sneak tastings of brown sugar.

Why is it that brown sugar is so good like that. We don't sneak tastes of white sugar (unless it's rimming a blueberry margarita:-)). But Brown sugar...yum

Well, 2 1/4 cups of brown sugar translated into one good cupcake. Simple and elegant.

And to top these beauties Martha suggests the Brown Butter Icing. More Yum.
This one melts butter, well, until it's brown--which gives it this nice almost nutty flavor. Mix that with a boatload of confectioner's sugar (look--this endeavor is about cupcakes. It's not meant to be healthy) and some vanilla. It was smooth, tasty and a light milky caramel color. While still warm and liquidy I dipped each cupcake top into the icing (vs. slathering or piping on) This is a fast and easy way to top cupcakes and using less icing than slathering.

It can even be done with store bought icing. Just microwave it for like a minute so it softens (you don't want it to become pure liquid and bubbly), stir then dip each cupcake upside down into the icing and give a small twist as you life it out and set it right side up again. A smooth, perfectly topped cupcake with a glossy sheen. This definitely stretches your icing. You can top 2 batches of cupcakes with 1 can of frosting this way.

These little babies were well received. One reviewer even commented that they are his favorite so far. And they were a hit with the kids (but less face it, lots of sugar covered in sugary butter--who wouldn't want that?).

Last Bite: These were a simple alternative to your average cupcake. They seem different and special. I think these would be great for an adult birthday and the kids won't mind eating them as well.