To celebrate my home, these Maple Eh Cupcakes are on the menu for our Canada Day Celebration.
Did you know that I wasn’t born in Canada? We moved from Cincinnati to Montreal when I was 5 years old. As much as I love the country of my birth, having lived in Canada for over 50 years (yep, I went there), it IS home.
Sure, this year’s celebration is going to look a little different for us. Maybe for you too! It’s just the 5 of us (instead of a big extended family barbecue like it usually is).
That’s okay. We’re still going to set off firecrackers (okay, really it’s just Walter dancing on bubble wrap but he loves the pop pop pop!). We’ll play in the backyard, livestream the fireworks, and eat junk food. Perfect!
So, for those unfamiliar with Canadian accents and slang, “eh” is pronounced “ay” (as in day, way, say). It’s often used in place of a period or question mark to punctuate our spoken sentences. “We’re doing really well in hockey this year, eh?”.
“We’re going to the pub. Come with us, eh!” Some people even use it in place of “huh” or “pardon” as a way of asking another person to repeat themselves. “Do you want to come with us?” “Eh?” “I said, do you want to come with us?”
However, it’s used, it’s as Canadian as hockey and, well, maple syrup! And if you love maple syrup the way my family does, you’re going to love these maple cupcakes!
MAPLE CUPCAKES
Maple Eh Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ cup butter softened (approx. 1 stick)
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ½ cup buttermilk
For the decorations:
- 1 stick butter softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- ¼ cup pecans crushed
- 3-4 oz. red fondant
- Small “E” and “H” cookie cutters
Instructions
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Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground nutmeg. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter, brown sugar and eggs.
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Once the butter mixture is creamy, add maple syrup and beat some more.
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Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. Continue beating until batter is formed.
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Scoop ¼ cup of cupcake batter into each section of your muffin pan.
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Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
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Allow to cool completely before decorating.
To decorate:
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Use an electric mixer to beat together butter, confectioners’ sugar and milk.
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Once the ingredients are well-combined and form semi-stiff peaks, scoop into a piping bag with Wilton’s 1M icing tip attached.
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Frost each cupcake.
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Sprinkle crushed pecans over on top of each frosted cupcake.
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Using a rolling pin, roll red fondant so that it’s about ¼ of an inch thick.
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Using your letter cookie cutters, cut out 18 “Es” and 12 “Hs.” Place one “E” and one “H” on each cupcake.
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Serve and enjoy!
Find some fun (and free!) printable Canadian activity pages here: crossword puzzle, word search, trivia quiz, coloring pages.
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