Churro Cupcakes
These churro cupcakes are the perfect mix of cinnamon and sugar, topped with a delicious cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 18
Calories: 295kcal
Ingredients
Cupcake
- 15.25 ounces vanilla cake mix
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Frosting
- ¼ cup cinnamon sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk or cream
- Caramel sauce, for drizzling
- 18 churro, 1-inch pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together cake mix, oil, buttermilk, eggs, and cinnamon. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined.
- Scoop cake batter into prepared muffin tins, filling about ⅔ of the way full. Bake cupcakes for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to the cooling rack.
- While the cupcakes are still warm, dip the tops into a shallow dish with the cinnamon sugar. Allow to cool the rest of the way.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and ground cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the powdered sugar and begin beating it into the cream cheese mixture. The frosting will be very thick. Add a tablespoon of milk/cream at a time, beating the frosting until a thick pipeable consistency is achieved.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe swirls on top of the cooled cupcakes.
- Drizzle with caramel sauce and top with a piece of a churro.
Notes
- We substituted buttermilk for the water in the cake mix instructions to achieve a richer, moister cupcake.
- Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your cupcakes as the suggested baking time approaches.
- Make sure you are using room-temperature cream cheese, so there aren’t any lumps in the creamy frosting.
- The frosting recipe will produce a bit of a stiffer consistency than traditional cream cheese frosting, making it durable for piping and staying on top of the cupcakes.
- Before adding the frosting (or instead of), you could also brush the tops of the cupcakes with melted butter and then dip them in the cinnamon sugar for a more pronounced cinnamon sugar crust.
Nutrition
Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg