"Cinnamon Swirl Latte" Ready to Sell!!

So pumped right now!!

The 4th time making my original cupcake recipe and it is finally ready to add to my menu to sell!!

What happens when I'm bored after work and it's so freezing out that I can't even think about going to the gym?? BAKE! What else!?

I had the most excellent idea pop into my head that night as I thought about how I could positively change my cupcake recipe. I already knew I had to add oil to the recipe and take out the sour cream. The best vanilla cupcake recipe that I have made for a past order is "The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake" which uses butter, oil, and sour cream. It comes out SO moist and amazing--when I took the left overs to the beach with me, my family loved them and they were already like 2 or 3 days old! I am now a strong believer that oil works best in cupcake recipes to make them moist.

What I changed this time around: I actually doubled my recipe. Since it was in testing mode over the past few months, I was only making six cupcakes. I was extremely excited and confident this time around, so I doubled it to make 12 (as much as a standard cupcake recipe usually yields).

I also decided to use more coffee grinds--I used 1.5 tbsp. this time as I only used 1/2 a tbsp. before (doubled would be 1 tbsp. but once again, I thought it needed more coffee flavor).

I reduced the sugar a bit as I was planning on adding a cinnamon swirl to each cupcake. The cinnamon swirl recipe includes a 1/3 cup of brown sugar so I didn't want the batter to be overly sweet.

Fill half of mixture and then add the cinnamon swirl

I did a few more minor tweaks here and there and was VERY confident after I tasted the batter of the cupcakes. I decided to name my very own recipe "Cinnamon Swirl Latte" and this name accurately portrays what this cupcake is all about! The cinnamon swirl resembles what is inside of a coffee cake and the coffee grinds make this cupcake different from any other cupcake out there!

What I used for icing: I used a regular vanilla butter cream frosting for these cupcakes. I know it would taste great with homemade whipped cream just like a real latte, however, I didn't have any whipping cream at home at the time. I am a little nervous about frosting with whipped cream when I get an order of these cupcakes though so I think I will stick with the butter cream and sprinkle of cinnamon on top!

This cupcake is ready to sell!! My coworkers and friends LOVED them--especially the coffee grinds!

The boyfriend recommended making a mocha espresso cupcake too. For this, I would use extra strong coffee grinds, maybe some freshly brewed coffee, and Baker's semi sweet baking squares! I could easily alter my recipe for this one :)

Random thought of the day: Flavored liquor would work well in coffee/chocolate/richly flavored cupcakes like these. Creamy/milky liquors (like Rum Chata) may also add moisture to the cupcakes. Trying next time around!

Cheers!!