Vanilla Butter Rum Cupcakes with Maple Butter Cream

This year I'm going a more nontraditional rout for my Thanksgiving cupcake. Keep in mind these are made with real rum, that being said you cook the alcohol off so they are perfectly safe for all ages. This is a pretty sweet cupcake by my standards but they came out just as I was expecting. When I was a kid there were these candies you could buy in bulk at the grocery store. they were Brach's Milk Made Royals.

My favorite flavor was the butter rum, but I also enjoyed the maple. I don't know why they make me think of fall, but these were the inspiration for my fall cupcake this year, and I wanted to get the recipe out for you guys in time for Thanksgiving.










Cupcakes
~30 cupcakes 350 degree oven 20 minutes

1/2 cup butter (room temp)

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups of cake flour

4 teaspoons of baking powder

1 Lg package of vanilla instant pudding

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs (beaten)

1 cup vanilla rum (I use Cruzan Vanilla Rum but you can sub regular rum if you'd like)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar together for 3 minutes. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in to a bowl, whisk and set aside.Combine milk, rum, and vanilla extract in to a separate bowl and set aside. Add eggs to creamed butter and sugar, one at a time mixing between each.  Add dry mixture in thirds. in between add the 3 tablespoons of oil one table spoon at a time mixing between each. Add instant pudding and 1/2 cup of oil to the batter and  mix until combined.

Spoon mixture in to cupcake liners, fill 3/4 of the way.

Butter Rum

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vanilla rum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup water.

In a sauce pan melt butter. Once butter is melted, add water and rum heat until bubbles form around the edges. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add spiced and let simmer for about 5 or 6 minutes longer stirring occasionally.

Once cupcakes are cooled, dip each one in to the butter rum sauce. 

Once all the cupcakes are dipped, start over and dip them again. The rum soak will have soaked in to the cupcakes by then and they can take a second dose. They will be sticky though.

This is what they look like after the second dip. If you have left over soak, you can save it in the fridge and pour it over ice cream or cheese cake. 

Frosting

2 sticks softened butter

3 tablespoons maple syrup

2 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter until smooth, add syrup and mix add sugar one cup at a time and mix until smooth. Top with sliced almonds.

Enjoy!