Churro Cupcakes

Have you ever had a churro before?  It’s a giant stick of fried dough with tons of cinnamon sugar on it.  It’s different from zepoles and funnel cakes because it’s more dense and has a thicker outer crust.  I get my churro craving satisfied at Costco.  It’s just one dollar for about 1½ feet of sweet fried goodness.  Such a good bargain!  The trick is to get it before you start shopping so you have a little snack, and you don’t have to worry about a cinnamon sugar trail being left in the house.
Here is my ode to a churro.  It is a cinnamon buttermilk cake with fluffy marshmallow frosting topped with cinnamon sugar and a bite-sized churro.  It takes a bit of work to make but it’s a lot of fun and a great idea for Cinco De Mayo. 🙂
Churro Cupcakes

Makes about 28 cupcakes

Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake

Ingredients:
3 c. cake flour
2  c. sugar
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1¼  c. buttermilk, divided
8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
4 eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In a bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
3. On low speed, add 1 c. buttermilk and butter and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, ¼ c. buttermilk, and vanilla extract until homogenous.
5. On low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.
6. Increase speed to medium, and mix until combined.
7. Fill 2/3 of cupcake liners.
8. Bake about 13-16 minutes until cake is done or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then move onto a cooling rack until completely cool.

Churros

For the cinnamon sugar
Ingredients:
½ c. sugar
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

For the batter
Ingredients:
1½ tbsp. sugar
1 c. water
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. plus 2 quarts vegetable oil, divided
1 c. all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. In a medium shallow bowl, mix together ½ c. sugar and ground cinnamon.  Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan combine sugar, water, sat and 2 tbsp. vegetable oil and bring to a boil.
3. Take the pan off heat and stir in flour until a ball of dough forms.
4. In a medium heavy bottomed pan, heat oil to 375˚F and line a sheet pan with paper towels for draining.
5. Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
6. Squeeze out 1-2 inches of dough and have it ready for frying.
7. Once the oil is ready, use a slotted spoon or a spider to transfer the dough into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
8. Remove the fried dough onto the sheet pan with a slotted spoon or a spider and let drain for about a minute.
9. Toss the warm churros into the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Reserve leftover cinnamon sugar mixture to dust on top of cupcakes.

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:
6 egg whites (180 g.)
1½ c. sugar
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
1 pinch of salt
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. In a small pot fill about 1 in. of water and let it come to a simmer.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until homogenous.
3. Once the water comes to a simmer, place the bowl on top of the pot and whisk the egg white mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy.
4. Move the bowl to your standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until glossy and stiff.
5. Add the vanilla extract and mix completely.
6. Fill a piping bag fitted with the biggest plain piping tip you have.

Assembly:

1. Pipe a large dollop onto the cupcake by holding the piping bag perpendicular to the cupcake and squeeze using an even pressure until your desired size forms.
2. In a fine mesh sieve, dust reserved cinnamon sugar topping onto the frosted cupcake.
3. Garnish with a piece of churro.

Cake recipe adapted from sky high.
Churro recipe adapted from just a taste.
Marshmallow frosting recipe adapted from Marth Stewart.