Almond Cupcakes & Recipe

Hello! It's been quite a while since I have blogged. In an attempt to be a better blogger, a wannabe food blogger, I have a recipe to proudly share. :)
On a completely different subject, I want a new camera :)
Last night, after I made an amazing pot of "goulash", I decided to make cupcakes, last minute. With no pre-planning, I went into the kitchen and started rustling up ingredients.
I always have flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and butter. I knew that I wanted a cupcake but I'm out of cocoa! I had no chocolate! What in the world was I thinking?
Then, it hit me, I had some Almond Extract! I began making Almond cupcakes and here's how I did it:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I sifted my flour)
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder (I sifted this with my flour)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup whole milk (I substituted with 2% milk)
  
  
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup margarine
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I omitted this and used almond extract instead)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, or as needed (again, I used 2% milk, it came out perfectly)
  • 1 pinch salt

• 3/4 cup salted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted(I drizzled in some milk while beating the sugar and butter, maybe a tablespoon or two? It is butter-CREAM, after all :D I also added some almond extract, a few drops did the trick. My frosting was light and airy and delicious-o! )
  
  

  Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 12 cupcake cups with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. (again, I sifted the two together)
  2. In a mixing bowl, thoroughly cream together the sugar and 1/2 cup of margarine until very well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined, and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, in several additions. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
  3. Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. (My oven cooked them perfectly in exactly 20 min.)
  4. To make caramel, Place the brown sugar, 1/2 cup margarine, corn syrup, and vanilla into a large saucepan over medium heat, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes; remove from heat and allow to cool to warm (not hot) temperature. Add the cream, a little at a time, until the caramel has the consistency of honey. Mix in the pinch of salt, and allow to cool to room temperature.
  5. Beat the salted butter with confectioners' sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy; slowly add and beat in the caramel, a tablespoon at a time, beating until the frosting is smooth.
  
  As you can see, I kind of adapted this recipe and went off on my own with it. It worked out pretty favorable if I do say so myself!
  This isn't the first time I made butter-cream frosting and it certainly won't be the last. It's SO easy. One note I will give: Be extra careful with the amount of almond extract because it will overpower the recipe very quickly if not used in moderation.