Fig Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
These fig cupcakes - made with fresh figs, fig jam, olive oil, and brown sugar, all topped off with a swirl of honey cream cheese frosting - are a unique and delicious fall dessert!
Servings: 12
Calories: 485kcal
Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- standard muffin pan
- 12 muffin liners
- Piping bag and tip (optional)
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ⅜ cup chopped fresh figs (about 2 figs)
- ⅜ cup fig jam
- ⅜ cup old-fashioned oats or chopped walnuts
Frosting:
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- pinch fine sea salt
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ⅓ cups confectioners' sugar
- ground cinnamon, for sprinkling on top
- sliced fresh figs, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a standard muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
Make the cake batter.
- In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer) add eggs and sugar and whisk on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add oil and sour cream and whisk to combine.
- Add flour mixture to the egg mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Add figs, fig jam, and oats or walnuts and fold these ingredients into the batter just until combined.
Bake the cupcakes.
- Add 3 Tablespoons of batter to each cupcake liner so that they're ⅔ full. Bake cupcakes for 25 minutes, or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when poked gently. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing the cupcakes from the pan.
Make the frosting.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer), add butter, cream cheese, and salt and beat on high speed until smooth. Add honey and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add confectioners' sugar and beat until blended and smooth. Frost the cooled cupcakes using a spatula or pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes using a pastry bag and piping tip. Garnish the cupcakes with fresh fig slices just before serving.
Notes
Storage: Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored in a loosely sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days. If stored in an airtight container the cupcake tops may become too moist, so it's best to store them loosely sealed to allow a small bit of airflow to the cupcakes.
Frosted cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Remove cupcakes from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving to let them come to room temperature.
Freezing: Unfrosted cupcakes can be sealed in an airtight container and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost cupcakes at room temperature before frosting and serving.
Recipe adapted from NYT Cooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 485kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 170mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 56g | Vitamin A: 567IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg