Martha's Cupcakes

I'm thinking April might be a cupcake month. Cupcakes and muffins and delicious things that come in a single-serving sized paper wrapper.

Yes, this just occurred to me, but I'm nothing if not impulsive. So put the cookies on the back burner and get ready for CUPCAKE APRIL! Yay!

Try not to hide your joy.

I like that Martha (I actually say Mah-Thah, if you want to get my actual inflection as you read this.) included this recipe in her cupcake book. And by "Martha" I mean "Martha's people." Her people are wicked awesome.

Wicked awesome.

You know it.

I also like to break the rules. However, this time, I went in with the goal of NO RULE BREAKING. Which means that I was going to follow the recipe and dot every "i" and cross every "t." I almost made it. I only tweaked the icing a little. A very little, teeny, tiny, itsy-bitsy bit. Just a touch of cinnamon and vanilla. And you know what? I'm glad I did it. HA! Take that Martha.

Yummy.

Make these for breakfast, brunch, a snack or even dessert. The dense, moist cake is almost eggy in flavor. Cinnamon, brown sugar, and a sweet icing will remind you of some of the best coffee cake you've ever had. Ever.

Streusel Muffin-cakes 
(Does "Muffcakes" sound dirty? Because I really want to call them Muffcakes.)

Cake Portion

• 2 1/2 cups Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 10 Tbsp Butter, softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups Sour Cream

Combine dry ingredients, set aside. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time combining after each addition.  Mix in vanilla and sour cream by hand. (Martha says so! But if you use your mixer, I won't tell anyone.) Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fill cupcake liners half full and top with streusel topping (Be not afraid, pile the streusel on!) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Streusel

• 2 1/4 cups Flour (I actually think I would reduce this to 1 3/4 cups.)
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 10 Tbsp Butter, softened

Mix until just combined with a pastry cutter or your hands. Refrigerate until ready to use. (I made this first and just stuck it in the freezer. Martha wants you to refrigerate it for 30 minutes.)

Icing

• 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Whisk together. Add more milk if necessary to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cupcakes. 

Share with friends and ENJOY!