C’mon, you know you want one of these Easy Brown Sugar Love Cupcakes. These cupcakes are made with brown sugar, evaporated milk and vinegar – making them super moist and delicious! And when paired with my Easy Basic Buttercream, they’re pure bliss!
I recently went through some old recipe books that I have in my collection from the 1940s and 50s. It’s what you do in Michigan in the winter. You clean out closets, read and cook a lot. I noticed a common theme in many of the recipes. Brown sugar was used in place of white, granulated sugar. Vinegar was used to help the texture of baked goods using fewer eggs. And evaporated milk was apparently used in everything. There were so many easy evaporated milk recipes back then. What did they know then, that we’ve forgotten or put aside?
This got me thinking…and baking. And ultimately, it led me to developing a recipe that satisfied a craving I had for both caramel and cake in one swoop.
Jump to RecipeBuilding big caramel flavor with 3 little ingredients in these Easy Brown Sugar Love Cupcakes
Three little ingredients make these Easy Brown Sugar Love Cupcakes irresistibly flavorful, moist and delicate. My takeaway from an afternoon flipping through old booklets left me with three takeaways. Brown sugar, evaporated milk and vinegar don’t get enough credit when it comes to baking.
- Brown Sugar – Is brown sugar better than white sugar for baking? That really depends on the recipe and the desired outcome. I love the taste and texture of brown sugar in this recipe for Easy Brown Sugar Love Cupcakes. The molasses in the brown sugar gives these cupcakes their signature caramel color and flavor. It also contributes to the soft and naturally moist crumb texture. For this recipe, brown sugar produced a better, richer flavor and texture.
- Evaporated Milk – The evaporated milk also plays an important role in the taste and texture of these cupcakes. Evaporated milk (not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk) is milk that has been heated until approximately 60% of its original water content has evaporated off. What remains is a thicker, creamier, more flavorful version of its former self. It’s the evaporated milk that enhances the rich caramel notes of the brown sugar. The evaporated milk also makes these cupcakes taste richer than they really are.
- White Vinegar – Wait, what? Vinegar in cupcake batter? Yes! This recipe calls for white vinegar for two reasons. First for flavor. White vinegar helps bring out a familiar caramel flavor similar to pecan or vinegar pie. It adds one more layer of complexity to the bake. But there’s another reason why vinegar is a modern-day baker’s new best friend. Vinegar also reacts with the proteins in the flour to give a cake a lighter, fluffier texture. If you’re interested in learning more, Petra Wakefield, of Leaf, has a post dedicated to How to Add Vinegar to Make a Cake More Moist.
I “Heart” You fun with kids
In an early post titled, Edible Finger Paint for Little Artists, I talk about how I used tinted pastry cream as finger paint when our daughter was young. She loved painting (and eating) her little masterpieces. And I enjoyed watching her exercise her creativity.
I have a soft spot when it comes to spending time with kids in the kitchen. There are so many fun, tasty and creative ways to engage them! Time spent in the kitchen is more than just a way to introduce kids to food. The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s a place to feed the body and soul. And a place for little ones to learn about food, experiment with flavors and develop their inner artist.
Making and decorating these deliciously moist cupcakes offers another way to play with your (food) and kids in the kitchen.
I’m obsessed with these Easy Brown Sugar Love Cupcakes, but what if I want to make a cake instead?
No problem. Simply spray your bake pans with a nonstick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds that have been cut to size.
One batch will yield three 6″ cake layers or two 8″ cake layers. You’ll need to increase the bake time to approximately 35 minutes for a 6″ round and 45 minutes for an 8″ round, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Once cooled and ready to decorate, I recommend finishing the cake with this recipe for Easy Basic Buttercream for the win! And yes, sprinkles are always appropriate.
Easy Brown Sugar Love Cupcakes
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy24
servings15
minutes24
minutesThis recipe yields 24 cupcakes.
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. white vinegar
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
One 17-oz. carton evaporated milk (or approximately 1 1/2 12-oz. cans)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin pan by lining it with cupcake papers. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and flour. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, over medium-low speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar until it looks like wet sand.
- Add the vanilla, white vinegar and eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions to ensure all ingredients are completely incorporated.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add 1/3 of the evaporated milk and mix until just combined.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 two more times – finishing with 1/3 of the evaporated milk.
- Fill the muffin cups and bake for approximately 24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating with buttercream.
