Cinnamon Cupcakes

Hmm, well. Much like the pumpkin craze back in October, it seems that there was a cinnamon burst in February! Today I'm sharing a recipe for cinnamon cupcakes with peanut butter icing that I recently developed. I've had a life-long fear of baking cakes from scratch, simply because the first time I tried to make a cake from scratch was for one of my best friend's 16th birthday. It tasted  like cornbread. It was very perplexing, as there was no cornmeal in the recipe. None the less, it took another decade for me to attempt my next cake from scratch. This is the first cake recipe that I ever dared to devise. I decided to top it with a peanut butter icing, which turned out to be quite the delightful combination! I hope you enjoy it.

Cinnamon Cupcakes

1 2/3c flour

1c brown sugar

1T baking powder

2.5T cinnamon

1T ground flax seeds + 3T warm water

2/3c +2T soy milk

2/3c water

1/3c canola oil

1t vanilla

2t apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350F. Add water to flax seeds and let soak. Mix dry ingredients, then add wet, except for the vinegar. Using an electric mixer, beat for 2 minutes. Fold in vinegar. Add batter to cupcake tins. Cook for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, then frost.

Peanut Butter Frosting

2T earth balance buttery spread
1/4c peanut butter
1/4t vanilla
2c powdered sugar
4T vanilla almond milk

Using an electric mixer, cream vanilla, peanut butter, and earth balance. Beat in sugar, 1/2c at a time. Add 1T almond milk to thin as necessary. Once the desired consistency is obtained, frost the cupcakes. Or, keep frosting in a closed container for up to a week before using.