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On September 8th we celebrate the Nativity of Mary, happy birthday, Mother Mary! For this special feast we decided to make homemade cinnamon cupcakes with cinnamon icing!
This flavor was chosen because of the special memory of our betrothal, which took place four years ago on September 8th. And our wedding that followed only a short couple of months later had cinnamon wedding cake that went in a flash. Honestly, I almost didn’t get a piece of our own cake, our baker did an amazing job by making it so delicious we decided to recreate this in Mary's honor!
Mary has always had her arms wrapped around this marriage, and so this day is filled with many Marian connections for us that we like to honor and celebrate.
It is liturgically fixed to this date because it comes 9 months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Help others celebrate too by sharing this useful graphic!
The Immaculate Conception is the Catholic dogma which states that Mary was conceived without sin as the child of Sts. Joachim and Anne. This holy couple was infertile but fervently prayed for a child when Anne received the promise that their child would play an integral role in salvation history.
“The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.” To see why we throw a birthday party like her dad, St. Joachim did, read this post.
I also have two Mary's Birthday Treat Toppers for you! It's an easy digital download that comes with two options: St. Anne holding baby Mary, and St. Anne standing by child Mary. Get it here!
Let's get to baking!
Prep Time: 20 minutes for the cupcakes & homemade icing
Bake Time: 15-17 minutes
Yields: 12 cupcakes
The Ingredients
For the Cupcake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup light-brown sugar, lightly-packed
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Icing
4 tablespoons butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
For Mary's birthday cupcake I wanted a cute party liner and found these with adorable polka dots. You could also go with the classic Marian blue!
You can also go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees, while we are baking your oven can warm up.
In a glass bowl combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 1/4 tsps baking powder. I love using brown sugar in cupcakes, in my experience they always turn out to be more moist.
Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp ground cloves.
I'm trying to not jump ahead too much with the fall feels, but this combination of spices is just giving all those vibes! 🍁
1/2 tsp sea salt can be added to this dry mix too!
Whisk all of that together until it is thoroughly combined and without any clumps.
Set that aside and we will begin the wet ingredients in a separate glass bowl! Pour in 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Crack in two eggs, then pour in 1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract.
And whisk, whisk, whisk to combine! Make sure you get those eggs that like to run away while you're mixing.
Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Back to that very helpful arm exercise of whisking! Don't over mix it, but make sure that it is smooth.
Using an ice cream scoop, pour the batter into your cupcake liners until about 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, I did 17 minutes, and tested it out by inserting a toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's finished! Then place the cupcakes on a cooling rack and wait until they are completely cooled off before icing, about 35 minutes.
While the cupcakes are cooling you can whip up your icing!
Begin by combining 4 tablespoons butter and 4 ounces of cream cheese in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth. When smooth pour in 1 tsp vanilla extract and combine.
Once these three ingredients are combined, sprinkle in 1/2 tsp cinnamon and mix again.
Change the setting to low and sprinkle in 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar.
Mix until the powdered sugar is completely incorporated and is nice and creamy like this!
Ice your cupcakes in whatever way you feel comfortable. If that means simply spreading it over the cupcake tops, great! Maybe you are going to use a piping bag with fun tips and let the family have fun decorating, great!
Do what you desire, this is not the Great British Baking Contest! 😃
I used a piping bag with a large round tip and slightly hovered the piping bag over the center of the cupcake and kept pressing the icing out until it created a nice round shape then pulled up. This is what is within my grasp to make a nice looking cupcake. If you are more advanced than that, go for it lady! 🙌🏼
