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Your Neighbor’s Recipe: Wendy’s “Babycakes”

Posted on June 3, 2011
ChefWendy

Who doesn’t love moist and flavorful cupcakes? They are like a party in a paper wrapper.

“The nice thing about the mini cupcakes is that they are so small – only a bite-full – I can pretend they won’t ruin my diet. The problem, of course, is that I can’t eat just one,” said Wendy Platt of Rancho Penasquitos.  “These Babycakes are great for serving at baby showers or summer potlucks. They go quickly… and the frosting is fabulous. Try not to eat any leftover frosting straight from the bowl. I dare you!”

Platt first saw these cupcakes on television, but substituted some of the baby food flavors and tweaked the recipe to make it her own.  A married mother of four (three grown) children, she has lived and worked in PQ since 1985.  In addition to cooking cupcakes, she read, cheers on the Padres and plays with her grandchildren.

Cupcake IngredientsCupcake DirectionsFrosting IngredientsFrosting Directions
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 4-oz jar squash baby food
2 4-oz jars apples, mango and kiwi baby food
1/2 cup ground pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl combine baking soda, salt, baking powder and flour. Mix thoroughly.
In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, honey, both sugars and butter. Mix until smooth with an electric mixer.
Add cinnamon and baby food and continue mixing until smooth.
Fold in the ground pecans; then slowly add the flour mixture, beating after each addition until ingredients are evenly mixed.
Place 24 mini baking cups (2-inch, nonfoil) into each hole of a mini muffin pan (most grocery stores carry these).
Using two teaspoons, fill each baking cup ¾ full.
Place mini muffin pan in center of oven and bake for 12 minutes.
Let cool in pans one minute; then turn onto a wire rack.
Cool cakes completely before frosting.

(makes about 6-7 dozen mini cupcakes)
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup ground pecans (optional)
In small mixing bowl add the extracts, milk, cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Spoon frosting into a 1-gallon re-sealable freezer bag, seal the bag and cut the tip off one of the bottom corners of the bag.
Squeeze frosting on each cooled cupcake.
Garnish with ground pecans if desired.

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