Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes

Who doesn't love cupcakes? A delicious little treat, that you can make as sweet as you like, and virtually any flavour under the sun. My last attempt at cupcakes was plain ol' vanilla, so I decided this time to spice it up a little bit. I've combined two different recipes here, to make the perfect Cinnamon Swirl Cupcake. And let me say, they are delicioussssss.....

**Note...I have cut the recipe in half, this yields 12 cupcakes in total. :D**

Here's what you'll need:

For the cupcakes:

113 grams of unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup white sugar

3 large eggs (If you only want to use the whites...then 4 egg whites)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose white flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon lemon zest

** Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit). **

Whisk together your flour and salt. In a separate bowl, beat your butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add your eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, mix well. Beat in your vanilla and lemon zest.

Add your flour mixture to butter and egg mixture, adding flour and milk alternatively to ensure a smooth consistency. Set the batter aside.

For your cinnamon swirl, you will need:

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Combine all three ingredients in a small bowl.

Take your batter and add one tablespoon of batter to your greased muffin tray (Or if you have cupcake papers, into the papers :D - I didn't, so I improvised lol). Using a teaspoon, sprinkle your cinnamon mixture on top of each cupcake. Add an additional 1 tablespoon of batter on top of each cupcake.

Finally, take a toothpick, and swirl your toothpick through each cupcake. I like to add a little extra cinnamon mixture on top, if you do, make sure you swirl that through with your toothpick too.

Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Once you've taken out your cupcakes, set them aside and use the time that they are cooling to make your frosting.

For your frosting you will need (**again, remember I cut this in half... and it still makes a LOT of frosting**):

2 cups of icing sugar
113 grams of softened butter (unsalted)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Combine all of the ingredients, and beat well until smooth. Spread on top of cupcakes! and Voila!



If you want a little added "pizazz," add a dash of the cinnamon mix (if you have any remaining) on top of the cupcake. They are sure to be a hit, no matter who you're serving to :D.