2nd Blogoversary! Marzipan-Filled Almond Cupcakes

Tomorrow (feb 4th) is my blog's second blogoversary! I can't believe I've been blogging for two years already! Not to mention the hundreds of goodies I've baked these last two years. It has been such a joyeus and therapeutic thing for me to do and I'm so grateful for all of my wonderful readers. To celebrate my blog's birthday, I wanted to make something bite-sized and festive.




Lately I've been obsessed with everything almond, so the decision to make almond cupcakes was easily made. I decided to go with a cream cheese frosting instead of a buttercream kind because the almond cake and the marzipan center are incredibly sugary, I wanted to balance that with the sourness of the cream cheese, and not pass out in a sugar coma. I used a Wilton 104 tip to frost these cupcakes. Rating: 4.5 out of 5.




Marzipan-Filled Almond Cupcakes: cake recipe adapted from "The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook"

Ingredients:
- ¾ cup self-rising flour
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup marzipan, rolled into 1-inch balls

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
- In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and almond. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
- Using a sharp, small knife cut out a 1-inch center. Set aside the 'cut-out' cake piece. Fill the cupcake with a marzipan ball. Top the marzipan ball with the left-over cake piece, pressing down to flatten the cupcake. Continue with remaining cupcakes.




Cream Cheese Frosting: adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook - Allysa Torey & Jennifer Appel

Ingredients:
- 4 ounces cream cheese (½ 8-ounce package), softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
- 1 ½ cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Instructions:
- In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and beat well. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continously until smooth and creamy. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer.







See the marzipan center? Scrumptiousness!