A Little Facelift with a Side of French Toast Cupcakes

.  Ahem.  Notice anything a little...different around here?

Yes, LSM has been through a [HUGE] design overhaul.  Personally, it makes me feel like a new woman.

But how great does LSM look?!  Well at least I think so.  I'll be honest, when I decided that LSM needed a face lift, I started searching for blog designers with a fair amount of skepticism.  Between you and me, my old design didn't exactly come out like I had wished and the process was a tad painful.  It was completely my fault though, I wasn't sure what I wanted design wise, so there was nothing to really work with.  But this time around, I had a good idea of what I wanted LSM to look like.  It was just a matter of finding the right blog designer to pull it off.  And guys, Sharon pulled. It. Off.  I knew right away when I stumbled upon Redbud Designs that we were made for each other.

It'd be an understatement to say how utterly excited I am about this new design.  It's everything I was hoping for and more.  Cliche?  I know.  But it's the truth.  And I can't say enough how ridiculously simple the process was.  I shared a few blog designs and pictures of things that were 'me' and here we are.  My style replicated to perfection on LSM.  Sharon, I may ❤ you.

So in honor of LSM's lovely new design, I felt compelled to share with you one of the best cupcakes I have had to date.  I kid you not.  You can hate me for a millisecond for holding out on you guys, but I was saving these for this special moment.  And once you take one bite, you'll be too busy shoveling the rest of the cupcake into your pretty face to worry about me.  I promise.  I brought these into work a few weeks ago and one particular Assistant General Auditor has [un]subtly been suggesting that a second round of these cupcakes would be welcomed with open plates.  I guess I could easily be convinced if I suddenly noticed a slight increase in my bank account...

So what is it about these cupcakes that has undoubtedly left its mark on my office?  Let's begin with the [cup]cake: super soft and loaded with cinnamon goodness.  But the real kicker is a crunchy layer of cinnamon streusel nestled atop these dang good cupcakes.  Oh, and the luscious, rich maple buttercream doesn't hurt either.

Let's be real, that entire paragraph doesn't do these cupcake confections any justice whatsoever.  You'll just have to trust my word that these are ah-mazing.  Or better yet, whip up a batch for you and yourself.  And I say you and yourself, because you won't want to share  .

From Bakingdom

Ingredients:

Streusel:

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1 tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

5 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Cupcakes:

3 c. all purpose flour

2 c. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. sour cream

4 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Maple Buttercream:

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c. maple syrup

2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Garnish:

Powdered Sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. For the streusel, combine brown sugar, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.  Cut in butter by hand until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Cover and freeze until ready to use.
2. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line a muffin pan with liners; set aside.
3. For cupcakes, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl.  Add butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract, and mix well until smooth.  Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full.  Sprinkle tops of batter with scant 1 tablespoon of streusel (make sure to completely cover the tops).  Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
4. For buttercream, beat butter on high speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in sugar until combined.  Stir in vanilla extract, salt and maple syrup.  Add heavy whipping cream and beat on high for 4 minutes.  Frost cupcakes as desired and sprinkle with powdered sugar using a sifter.

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes