King (cup) Cakes for Mardi Gras

Last month one of my favorite bloggers had a giveaway.  Guess what?  I won!  It's almost 20 days later I'm still completely jazzed.  I've only won one other giveaway in my life.  The best part was the giveaway was for Giselle at Baking in Heels 1,000 Facebook fan giveaway. It was really fun to be apart of Giselle reaching her goal.  She is super sweet and makes fancy sugar cookies.  Stop by and send Giselle some love.  I'm sure it would make her day.

So, I won a bunch of Mardi Gras themed baking stuff.

Crown, Mask (with eye cut out), and Alligator

Cookie Cutters from Karen's Cookies

Mardi Gras Mask Cupcake Picks from Fancy Flours

Disco Dust in Gold, Emerald Green, and Amethyst

3 Disco Dust Shakers

from Fancy Flours

 

Fancy Flours even included recipe cards for Royal Icing and No Fail Sugar Cookies

Mardi Gras colored sanding sugar

I love my new cookie cutters.  I used them to make shape pancakes for Thing 1 and his friend Kalli.  I've never had disco dust before.  I can't wait to figure out something awesome to use it on.

But the best part of this giveaway was the King Cake I got.  You heard me.  Giselle had a King Cake shipped from Marguerite's Cakes in Louisiana directly to my house.  Marguerite's ships their cakes all over the country so you can get your very own King Cake too.

Your King Cake order will come with Mardi Gras shwag and a history of King Cakes.

We got the original cinnamon flavored cake.  Yum!!

I wasn't sure what I was going to make you all for Mardi Gras, but I knew I wanted to use all my need goodies.  After debating over whether to make an actual King Cake or not, I decided King Cake inspired cupcakes would be be perfect!  King Cake is like a giant oval cinnamon roll with almond icing and sanding sugar.  Easy enough, right?

King (cup) Cakes

Cupcakes from BHG

Icing adapted from BakeSpace

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

2/3 cup butter

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups milk

Almond Buttercream

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

5 to 6 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. 
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans.  Set both aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.   
4. I a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time, scraping sides of the bowl occasionally.  Beat for 2 minutes more until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Add flour mixture and milk in alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour; beat on low speed after each addition just just combined (batter may look curdled).
5. Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into the bottom of each muffin tin.  Sprinkle 1 teaspoon brown sugar mixture over batter in each cup.  Repeat, spooning 1 tablespoon batter, then 1 teaspoon brown sugar mixture into each muffin tin.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes in cupcake pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from tin and cool completely on wire racks.
7. While cupcakes cool, prepare Almond Buttercream:
   Beat butter in large mixing bowl for 1 minute until fluffy.  Beat in confectioner's sugar 1 cup at a time until well combined with butter.  Add extracts.  Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired frosting consistency is achieved.
8. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes with a star tip.  While frosting is wet, sprinkle cupcakes with yellow, purple, and green sanding sugar (one third of the cupcake top per color).  Gently shake off extra sugar once frosting has set.  Top with Mardi Gras themed cupcake pick if desired.
   
   
   Don't forget to sneak a little plastic baby onto the top of one of the cupcakes before you add the frosting!  Just push the baby into the cupcake a little bit.

The cupcakes are really good.  They taste just like the King Cake, but have a cake texture instead of a cinnamon roll texture.

I went a little photo happy, what?

all the extra sugar in the pan made me think "This is what New Orleans must look like the day after Mardi Gras."