Fried Ice Cream Cupcakes

I was rather intrigued with ice cream cupcakes this summer, so I made these creations for a family gathering. They were well received, and I enjoyed making the treats.

Fried Ice Cream Cupcakes

The cupcake itself is a sweet cupcake, topped with a crunchy cornflake mixture. The topping looses its crunch within a day and takes on a chewy texture. Tastes good either way, but the crunchy texture is better.

1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup milk
Cornflake topping:
1/2 cup cornflakes, crushed
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp. butter, melted

First, prepare the cornflake topping by combining all ingredients except butter together in a small bowl. Mix well, and then drizzle with butter. Stir to mix in butter, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line 24 muffin tins with liners. In medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Whisk in salt. In a separate bowl, cream the sugars and butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, 1/2 the milk, 1/3 of the flour mixture, 1/2 the milk and the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture.

Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full. Sprinkle tops generously with cornflake topping. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes, and then cool completely on wire racks.
the remaining ingredients together well. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened.

In an ideal world, I would have made my own ice cream. However, I opted for convenience's sake and used the cinnamon ice cream I found in the store that inspired these cupcakes.

Once cupcakes are completely cool, remove tops of cupcakes with sharp knife. Be careful to keep tops intact. Spoon one to two tablespooons of slightly softened cinnamon ice cream onto each cupcake. Then press the cupcake top back on the cupcake to seal in the ice cream. I found it helpful to put the cupcakes in the freezer at this point to let the ice cream freeze solid before I attempted to frost the cupcakes.

This is now one of my favorite frosting recipes, which worked wonderfully with these cupcakes. I think penuche is now my second favorite frosting (right behind peanut butter ... yum!).

Cinnamon Penuche Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In saucepan, melt butter. Add brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower to medium heat and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and cinnamon, and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until thick enough to spread. If it is too thick, add a little hot water to soften it.

Spread frosting on top of each cupcake, sealing in all cupcake and ice cream. Since this frosting is so delicious, I don't see any reason to use a thin layer.

Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps
1 tortilla, cut into 16 triangles
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lay tortilla crisps on parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet. Brush each with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

The final step is to top each cupcake with a tortilla crisp just prior to serving. And then, enjoy!