Coffee Cupcakes with vanilla doughnuts

Yup, gotta admit it. I am a HUGE fan of cupcake wars... and well, I've been sick the past few days and I've had plenty of time to catch up on one of my favorite shows....

So I got the idea from the show about these fantastic mini doughnuts! I checked around on line and a few weeks back and I found the wonderful  Pan to assist me in making these delectable delights at Sur La Table.

Its only now, since I've got the time and I can't bake with being sick- that I can finally share this wonderful treat with you!!

The idea is to make a simple, coffee cupcake that isn't too sweet so you aren't able to enjoy the doughnut along with it.
This recipe is fantastic and a breeze to make. I used decaf only because I'm a wimp and too much caffeine makes me a nut... OK, well a jumpy nut.

Coffee Cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup of milk

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

2 tbsp of coffee (instant)

1/2 of sugar

1/2 packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

Preheat oven 350○

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt- set aside.

Combine coffee (make ahead of time -follow directions on box) with milk.

Beat butter and both sugars until fluffy and light. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in flour mixture -alternating with milk mixture. Always start and end with dry mixture.

Put into liners- Bake about 20 minutes

Makes 15 cupcakes.

Basic Butter cream Frosting

2 (or more, depends on you) cups powdered sugar

2 sticks of soft unsalted butter

1 tsp of vanilla

Beat butter until smooth- add sugar slowly until you get the desired taste and consistency. 

Doughnuts 

1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/4 cups of cake flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp of salt

1/2 of milk

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsp of butter (melted)

1/2 tsp of vanilla

Preheat oven to 450○ Spray non-stick cooking spray on pan

Sift flour, baking powder, salt. Stir in sugar. Add milk, egg, butter and vanilla until combined. Fill pan 1/2 full. Bake 4 to 6 minutes.

Yum!