The vanilla cupcake with caramel and pear sounded incredibly good but The Kitchen Prep kicked it up a notch by adding a brown sugar and cinnamon buttercream frosting. The cupcakes are made with the real kind of vanilla by using the seeds from a vanilla bean. The pear butter has a consistency like apple butter made with pears nutmeg and brown sugar. Totally decadent. These might take a bit longer to make but it will be unquestionably worth it.
Vanilla Cupcakes with Caramel Pear Butter Filling
For Cake:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tins with liners. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine granulated sugar and vanilla bean seeds until well blended. {No major vanilla bean clumps.}
3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to vanilla sugar. Mix until well blended.
4. Beat in softened butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla. Pour liquid into flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Pour milk in slowly, mixing until just combined. {The batter will be liquidy. That’s how it should be!}
6. Fill each liner a little over halfway full. Bake for 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.
For Filling:
1/2 cup Caramel-Pear Butter (recipe below)
For Frosting:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
About 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1. Beat butter, sugar and cinnamon together until smooth and sugar begins to blend in. {This may take a few minutes.}
2. Slowly add in confectioners’ sugar, one cup at a time until well blended.
3. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. {Some of the brown sugar crystals might still be visible. It’s ok.} :)
Assembly:
1. With a sharp paring knife {or an apple corer… it’s my favorite tool for this task!}, cut a well in the middle of each cooled cupcake. {Save the cake for snacking. :) }
2. Fill a piping bag or zip top storage bag with the tip snipped with about 1/2 cup of filling. Fill each cupcake to top of well.
3. Fill a separate piping bag with frosting and desired decorative tip. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
4. If desired, sprinkle lightly with extra cinnamon and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Caramel-Pear Butter
3 tablespoons apple juice or apple cider
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
A pinch of salt1. In a medium pot, toss together apple juice or cider, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and chopped pears. {Lemon juice keeps pears from browning, so you should toss them in as soon as they are cut.}2. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the pears begin to release their own juices, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Turn down heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the pears are very tender, about 20 more minutes
4. Scoop softened pears into a blender and blend until almost smooth. {Be careful blending anything hot – it tends to make liquids explode from the blender! You may want to let it cool slightly before beginning to process. You can leave it a bit chunky if you prefer that consistency instead.}
5. Return pear puree to pot and stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt.
6. Simmer on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture has thickened to desired consistency, about 1 hour. {Remember, it will thicken quite a bit more once it is cooled.}
7. Pour into a jar and allow to cool before sealing.
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of Caramel-Pear Butter.