Churro Cupcakes

Cupcakes

            1 cup Trader Joe’s All Purpose GF flour or 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour or 1 cup of your favorite GF flour + ½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour already contains) (See Notes)

            1 cup sugar

            1½ tsp baking powder

            1½ tsp cinnamon

            1 tsp salt

            ¾ cup butter, softened

            1 cup milk (I use fat free, but use whatever you have on hand)

            1 egg

            1 tsp GF vanilla

            Cinnamon & Sugar mixture, to sprinkle on top before baking

Frosting

            8 oz cream cheese, softened

            ½ cup butter, softened

            1½ cups powdered sugar

            ½ tsp cinnamon

            2 tbsp whipping cream

            1 tsp GF vanilla

            Pinch of salt

Garnish Options

            Cinnamon & sugar mixed, for sprinkling on top

            Churros (see notes)

Churro Cookies (see notes)

  Chocolate sauce

Place muffin cups in a 12 cup muffin tin

Whisk together GF flour, xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, cinnamon & salt. Set aside.

On stand mixer, beat sugar & butter together until smooth & creamy.

Add egg & mix just until combined.

Add vanilla just until combined.

Starting with flour mixture, alternately add flour mixture & milk. Mix just until combined – do not overmix.

Fill muffin cups about ¾ full. (I pour the batter into a bowl with a spout to fill the muffin cups - makes less of a mess!)

Sprinkle tops with cinnamon & sugar mixture.

Bake at 350° for about 25-35 minutes (time will depend on your oven, pan & what type of flour you use). A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.

Remove cupcakes from pan & cool completely on wire rack. Don’t worry if they collapse a little in the middle - just fill them with a little extra frosting!

 Frosting

Beat cream cheese & butter until smooth.

Add powdered sugar & cinnamon until completely smooth.

Add whipping cream, vanilla & salt. Beat until combined. (If frosting is too thick to spread, add more whipping cream, ½ - 1 tbsp at a time until you get the consistency you want. Or if it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar, 1 – 2 tbsp at a time.)

Frost cupcakes. You can just spread frosting with a small spatula or you can put frosting in a pastry bag with a large tip & pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Cupcakes on left were frosted using pastry bag, cupcakes on right were done with a small spatula.

To garnish, you can any combination of these options - make it your own! Sprinkle frosting with cinnamon & sugar, top each cupcake with a small piece of churro or churro cookie, or drizzle with chocolate sauce (I like Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Ice Cream topping).

Notes:

This recipe is loosely based on one from www.delish.com/uk/cooking/recipes/a31992796/churro-cupcakes-recipe

These were a HUGE hit with my taste testers! They are pretty easy to make & have just the right texture & flavor with the perfectly matched frosting.

I like Trader Joe’s flour because the cupcakes are just a little lighter. But Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour works well too, they are just slightly more dense.

I haven’t been able to find GF churros in any grocery stores. I did find them on amazon – but they are very pricey! So you have a few options. You can splurge on pre-made GF churros, just leave them off, make them yourself (check out my easy GF Churros recipe), or use Churro Cookies (see my Churro Cookie recipe).