Easy Burnt Almond Cupcakes

Easy burnt almond cupcakes with a buttery yellow cake base, simple
almond frosting, and toasted almonds are a delicious spring dessert for
Easter and other spring occasions!

Ingredients
For The Cupcakes

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

For the Frosting

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 lb powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 3–4 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a standard sized muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In
   the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a
   large bowl with a hand mixer, combine butter and sugar. Mix until well
   blended.
3. Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until well blended on medium speed, but don’t over-mix.
4. Mix
   flour, baking powder and salt into the batter on low speed until just
   combined, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
5. Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling each 3/4 of the way full.
6. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
7. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
8. Turn
   oven up to 400°F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet, and toast for
   5-6 minutes, or until golden, watching them carefully so that they don’t
   burn. Remove from the oven and set aside.
9. To make the frosting, beat
   room temperature butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in
   the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, until
   smooth.
10. Add milk, 1 tbsp at a time, as necessary to reach a fluffy
    but slightly stiff consistency. If frosting is too runny, add a bit more
    powdered sugar.
11. Store frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
12. To
    frost the cupcakes, scoop frosting into a pastry bag with a large tip
    or a large zip-top bag with the corner cut out to make a hole. Pipe
    frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes.
13. Use the bottom of a
    teaspoon to make a little hole in the center of the frosting on each
    cupcake to resemble a ‘nest’, then fill each hole with toasted almonds.
    Alternately, you can just press the almonds onto the freshly piped
    frosting to cover the entire top, if you’d like.

Notes

• Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Flour is so light that I don’t ever sift it.
• Be
  careful not to over-mix the batter, which can cause your cupcakes to
  sink or to become too tough. Mix the flour in until just blended.
• Make sure cupcakes are completely cool before frosting them so that the frosting doesn’t slide off.
• I
  love the flavor that vanilla bean paste provides desserts without the
  hassle of splitting a vanilla bean and scraping out the pods. If you
  can’t find vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract works just fine, or you
  can use the pods of a vanilla bean (half for the cake, and half for the
  frosting).
• Use room temperature eggs for the best blending. You can
  bring eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in warm water for
  about 10 minutes.
• Set the butter for the frosting out when you start
  baking the cake so that it’s room temperature by the time you’re ready
  to make the frosting.
• If you make the cupcakes in advance, wait to
  add the almonds to the tops until the day you are serving so that they
  stay crunchy.