Malted Vanilla Bean Mini Cupcakes with Stained Glass Candy
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup malted milk powder (Carnation makes this…if you can’t find you can use Ovaltine but that will give it a chocolate flavor that the regular malted milk does not)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar (preferably superfine)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk
2 vanilla beans, beans scraped and pods discarded
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two 24 cup mini muffin tins with cupcake papers or spray with baking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the flours and malt powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
Add the sugar and gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl whisk together the vanilla beans and milk.
Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the vanilla bean milk. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 10 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Malted Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup malted milk powder
2 vanilla beans, beans scraped and pods discarded
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and malted milk powder.
Then the milk and vanilla beans.
On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency.
You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Cupcake recipe adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York’s Sweetest Bakery by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey
Stained Glass Caramel
1 cup granulate sugar
2 1/2 TBSP water
Various food colorings
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop a few drops of food coloring onto the paper. Do not touch them, swirl them or move them.
In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and water, do not stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil until the caramel reaches the soft crack stage or 140C – 285F on a candy thermometer (do not let it turn color). Immediately pour over the parchment paper with the food coloring.
Take the baking sheet with your hands and move it left to right, right to left to move and swirl the colors. Let set until completely cooled. Break pieces of your desired size to decorate the cakes with.
