These nutmeg cupcakes with lemon-cream cheese frosting are a delicious winter dessert, but they’re also great served warm without the frosting for breakfast.
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes
To make the cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground or 1/4 tsp freshly grated
- 1 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup yogurt, buttermilk or kefir
- 1 cup ripe bananas, smashed (from about 2 bananas)
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated (The large holes on a cheese
grater work well for this job.)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a muffin pan or line
it with cupcake holders. - Combine the dry ingredients, and set aside.
- Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla, then beat the eggs in one at a time.
Fold in the yogurt, followed by the dry ingredients, mixing until just
combined. Fold in the bananas and apples. Fill each cupcake cup about 2/3 full. - Bake for about 20 minutes, checking every couple of minutes afterward,
until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to
a wire rack to cool. - Serve as muffins or top with the following frosting to serve as
cupcakes. Add a fresh grating of nutmeg over the top.
To make the lemon-cream cheese frosting:
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions:
- With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar.
- Stir in the vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.
To assemble the cupcakes:
Frost each cooled cupcake with a butter knife or piped through a frosting bag. Assemble the cupcakes on a serving tray or plate. Hold a
nutmeg grater or microplane over the cupcakes and grate a dusting of fresh nutmeg
over the tops.
Photo by Tim Nauman Photography