Them be muffins. Somehow I’ve always wanted to say that! Not sure why.
You guys had your Halloween, now it’s time to make room for Sinterklaas. I absolutely love how these muffins turned out. They looked so cheerful! Very Sinterklaas worthy. The cupcakes were really fragrant with just enough spices in them to make them taste more interesting than regular muffins. Not too sweet either. Topped with white chocolate frosting, this was my little man’s private cupcake heaven.
And you betcha I made the kid work for his cupcakes!
Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 a tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 a cup sugar
2 tbsp speculaas spice
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick soft butter
Frosting:
5 oz white chocolate
2 cups confectioners sugar
2/3 tsp white vanilla extract
5 oz softened butter
1/4 cup milk
Directions:
* this recipe makes for 12 muffins.
Mix 2 cups sieved all-purpose flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1 slightly heaping tsp baking soda, 1/2 a tsp salt, 2 tbsp speculaas spice and 1/2 a cup sugar.
Bring in the troops. Love seeing those tiny hands in my shots. Lightly beat one large egg.
Pour in 1 cup buttermilk and stir together. It’s hard to keep in focus when you’re photographing a 3-year-old in the kitchen! He was trying so hard, though.
I forgot to take a shot of the bowl with melted butter. Well, mine was more soft than melted. I should have nuked it a little longer but in the end it didn’t matter for the flavor or structure. Add the buttermilk and egg to the melted butter and stir well.
Pour the buttermilk butter in with the flour and use an old and wornout hand-mixer to lightly mix the batter. Or use a shiny new cobalt blue kitchenaid, just don’t tell me about it (glares), you hear me, Kalyn!
Line a muffin tray with 12 colorful liners. Come on, it’s for St. Nicholas. Besides, you need some color in your life anyway. Out with the boring white cupcakes. Fill them 1/2 to max 2/3 with the batter.
Bake the muffins at 350F (180C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Until puffy, brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
Time to make the frosting! Break 5 oz white chocolate in little pieces. I put them in a microwave-proof bowl and nuke them for a minute and a half. But you can also melt the chocolate au bain marie. Your call. Let it cool off.
Another key ingredients is 5 oz softened butter. Now, I know a lot people use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt. I’m not one of them. I prefer using salted butter.
Mix 2 cups confectioners sugar (pretend for a moment I sieved the sugar as well) with 1/4 cup milk, 2/3 tsp white vanilla extract and the butter. Mix until creamy and fluffy.
Stir in the melted white chocolate. Refrigerate the frosting for about 45 minutes. Until firm enough for decorating.
Pipe the frosting onto the muffins using a pastry bag and large decorating tip (I used Wilton 1M).
Not entirely sure what was more fun; making them together or eating them together. I love his current age—all temper tantrums and cheekiness aside—they are so fricken cute when they want to help out in the kitchen, look totally focused and concentrated while doing it. And they are so shamelessly proud of themselves.
Kay’s Recipe Card
Click here for printable size.
Tags: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, butter, buttermilk, confectioners sugar, egg, milk, salt, Speculaas Muffins, speculaas spices, white chocolate, white chocolate frosting, white vanilla extract
November 11th, 2009 at
This looks beautiful.
November 11th, 2009 at
Ooh. Those look amazing! These will be in the oven today.
November 11th, 2009 at
One should not read this blog post when you just woke up and you are HUNGREY! These look so good!
November 11th, 2009 at
The muffins look really yummy! Love the little colored sprinkles. Bet the taste combo is out of this world!
November 11th, 2009 at
Hoi! Ziet er goed uit! Ben alleen benieuwd hoeveel boter je gebruikt. Een stick is natuurlijk Amerikaans. Gaat er een heel pakje boter door, a 250 gr? En de baking soda, hoe vertaal ik dat?
November 11th, 2009 at
@Debbie:
Nee, een stick is ongeveer 115 gram. Baking soda is soda-bicarbonaat, niet te verwarren met bakpoeder!
November 11th, 2009 at
Yummy. Those little hands look so cute mixing up those muffins. Does the white chocolate frosting stay soft and creamy or does it get crusty? It looks wonderful.
November 11th, 2009 at
@Andilynn:
This frosting stays creamy. that’s why I put it in the fridge first until it’s firm enough and then slap it on right before serving them.
November 11th, 2009 at
Hi Kay,
I have been introduced to your blog recently by a friend and love it!!! This is the most beautiful blog I have ever seen and your pictures are just amazing! You are such an inspiration :) Love the muffins and love the photos of your kids hands in all the baking you guys do together. I’ve gotten my 2 1/2 year old to bake with me and we both enjoy every bit of it! Keep up the amazing work. I’ll keep coming back for more!
November 11th, 2009 at
Oh wow, these look yummy and o so pretty. And that frosting looks amazing and delicious., I’ve been on the lookout for a chocolate frosting recipe.
November 12th, 2009 at
Just thought I’d share that I came upon your website tonight, as it was a link from Once a month mom. Found your blueberry smoothie recipe. Fell in love with your photography. Even more amazing, you teach how to make photos look perfessional with Lightroom. I will be a close follower of your site, as I dream of being a better cook, and photgrapher! Thank you. You made my day / week/ … :)
November 12th, 2009 at
I love cupcakes!!! They are so pretty and festive for any occassion.
The next couple days I will (finally!) be posting the pictures of the snow we travelled to. So glad it has stayed away from us for a bit longer yet!
November 12th, 2009 at
Love these! So colorful and festive. Also, like those little figures in the photo. So cute.
November 12th, 2009 at
Super schattig!!
November 12th, 2009 at
@love2bake:
Vond ik ook! Maar was bang dat er weer hele drama’s zouden komen van die foto.
November 12th, 2009 at
You are inspiring me to bake, which is something I don’t do often. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
November 13th, 2009 at
Oh, how I love the pic of your darling boy’s sweet little hand gripping the utensil! You can tell by the way he’s holding it that he was trying SO HARD! The muffins look great, too. But the baby hands! OH, THE BABY HANDS! SO SWEET! LOL!
November 14th, 2009 at
I totally expected crazy Laura to show up in this posting :)
November 14th, 2009 at
@Erin:
Yeah, me too :)
November 15th, 2009 at
I have just noticed this recipe on here. Sounds great. I had in fact used your speculaas spice in my own muffin recipe earlier today – which turned out great. Although I may have to go ahead and use this recipe as well. Looks fantastic.
Thanks for sharing as always.
November 16th, 2009 at
I absolutely hate sinterklaas, but these cupcakes will do aaaaaaaaany day of the year! Wow! ;)
The best thing about not celebrating sinterklaas is eating these kinda things (along with kruidnootjes and speculaas) year round. Why wait for december if you’re not going to celebrate anyway? hehe..
Greetings from just-below-rotterdam
p.s. I had to laugh so bad about that Dutch care package…. you’re including the same items I always tend to put in swaps that go around the globe!
November 17th, 2009 at
What beautiful cupcakes! And the little hand in the pictures is adorable!
November 23rd, 2009 at
też bym nie jadła, ;-) Piękne !