My niece has been on a word-learning tear recently. It seems like she’s got new words every time I see her. Which is crazy to witness! It’s probably a word or two a day! I haven’t learned a word or two a day since… I read Catch-22 two months ago. But before that, it was ages ago! I maintain that the adult mind cannot comprehend that level of learning per day. Anyways, she recently learned the word “cupcake” from a Halloween book she was reading last week. But after quick discussion, we realized she has not yet had a cupcake!! So she learned the word just from an illustration in a book. That needed to be rectified fast. She needs to connect the word “cupcake” with the actual item.
This recipe also uses baby food! Which she doesn’t eat much anymore, I suppose. But I read an article a month or so ago about how the best carrot cake is made using carrot baby food, and I made a note to remember that next Easter. But when Molly requested sweet potato cupcakes for my niece’s first cupcake, I realized I could use sweet potato baby food for it!
All this to say, these are very much geared towards my niece. So on top of it, I made them mini, so they could be toddler sized!
I was finding a lot of recipes for sweet potato cupcakes with marshmallow frosting, a la sweet potato casserole. But I realized I don’t think I’ve ever actually had sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. I’ve had sweet potato fries dipped in marshmallow sauce, but I don’t really have any strong cravings for sweet potato marshmallow casserole.
So I went with this cream cheese frosting recipe I found. And then I made the caramel miso, because I figured it would add some nice dimension to it. Every good cupcake needs dimension. And when you’re just learning what a cupcake is, you deserve to have a top notch cupcake. I need my niece to associate me with top notch desserts. We’ll have to see if she deems these “yummy.”
She probably won’t be able to say “Sweet Potato Miso Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Miso Caramel” for a while though.
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PinIngredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup (4oz) sweet potato baby food (I used Beech Nut)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons mall purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
For the cream cheese frosting
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2–2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the miso caramel:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons white miso
Instructions
- First, make the caramel: First, heat up your heavy cream in the microwave just until it’s not cold (30 seconds to a minute), and then stir in the miso. Set aside.
- In a heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat, stir together sugar and water. Without additional stirring, bring mixture to a boil. Use a wet pastry brush to wash down any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan. When sugar becomes a deep golden brown and wisps of smoke just start to form, remove pan from heat.
- Once off the heat, carefully pour in the cream mixture, which will cause the caramel to bubble. Stir to combine. If the caramel seizes up and hardens with the addition of the cream, then put the pan back over low heat and stir until the caramel is liquid again. Allow to cool slightly before pouring into a lidded container. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. When it’s time to drizzle, you may need to microwave it for 30 seconds of so to make it liquid-y enough.
- Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 6-7 full-size cupcake molds, or 17-20 mini cupcake molds with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix the sweet potato baby food, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla extract until well-combined. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt, mixing only until combined.
- Pour batter evenly into cupcake liners. Bake for 15 minutes, then allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting: cream the butter in a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment for about 1 minute. Add in the cream cheese, beating for another minute. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, beating until the frosting is nicely whipped, about 30 seconds more.
- Place 3 tablespoons of frosting over each cupcake, and use the back of a knife to smooth it out. Drizzle on caramel as desired.