Peach Pie Cupcakes

Fresh summer peaches, another awesome Farmer's Market find...not what to do with them? I've made peach pie a million times so that was out. Then I happened to see peach cupcakes on Smitten Kitchen and knew a cupcake it must be! I wanted something a little different though, so the Peach Pie Cupcake was created.

I couldn't decide though which frosting I wanted, so I made three, I know I'm a compete dork. I preferred the brown sugar, T liked the brown butter better. The mascarpone was pretty great, just not really the right thing for this cupcake though, it needed something with a little more depth and heaviness. Amazingly, the kids actually ate these...cool...and they're not half bad for breakfast either. Inspired by Willow Bird Baking.

Peach Pie Cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter
3/8 cup light brown sugar
3/8 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup applesauce (or any fruit flavor baby food you like)
3 Tbs Tuaca liquor, divided
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
2 cups fresh peaches chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 12 wells in a cupcake pan. In a small bowl, make streusel. Add all the ingredients and cut the mixture into crumbles using a pastry blender. In a separate bowl, combine chopped peaches with 1 tablespoon Tuaca liquor, set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add the eggs one at a time and mix. Mix in the buttermilk, applesauce, vanilla, and the Tuaca/peach juice and extra 2 tablespoons Tuaca.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add a little of the flour mixture at a time to the wet ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Beat the batter well until air is incorporated, about 2 more minutes.

4. Pour batter until each cupcake well is just under half full. Spoon a thin layer of streusel over this batter, then drop in one tablespoon of peaches (making sure not get extra juice from the peaches). Fill in with the rest of the cupcake batter. If you love a lot of peach in your “cobbler,” you can add a few more hunks on top. Spoon a sprinkle of streusel over the top of the batter in each well. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan for a couple of minutes, and then on a cooling rack. Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost them.

Streusel

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting, Smitten Kitchen


1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens back up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop on cooled cupcakes.

Mascarpone Frosting, Martha Stewart

1 cup heavy cream
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temp
½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.

Brown Butter Icing, Martha Stewart

4 Tbs un-salted butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbs milk

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind.

2. Add sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon milk, a little at a time, until consistency is spreadable. Let cool 5 minutes. Use immediately

* These cupcakes would have looked amazing if I'd had chocolate brown cupcake liners, I really need to buy some!

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