Cupcake

Robicelli's Cinnamon Bun Cupcakes

October 16, 2013

All this week, our friends Allison and Matt from Robicelli's will be sharing recipes from their cookbook Robicell's: A Love Story, with Cupcakes, hosting a Twitter chat today, answering our questions, and giving away a book every day.  

Today: Thanks to the Robicell's, cupcakes are now officially acceptable for breakfast consumption.

Robicelli's Cinnamon Bun on Food52

Shop the Story

What’s more comforting on a cold, rainy day than a warm, gooey cinnamon bun? Maybe curling up in a soft robe with a nice hot cup of tea, watching bad movies on Lifetime starring Valerie Bertinelli as some sort of woman “scorned.” Or lying on the couch while an entire litter of kittens sleeps peacefully on your chest. Or sitting in front of a fireplace doing crossword puzzles while listening to Sade’s smooth-as-satin voice.

Okay, maybe there are a lot of things more comforting than cinnamon buns, but you know what? You can’t eat kittens or Sade, so there. The key part to any worthwhile cinnamon bun, in our opinion, is the sticky “goo” that oozes out. So rather than make just a simple cinnamon cake, we dot ours with a cinnamon sugar mixture that sinks to the bottom during baking and oozes out when you unwrap it. There’s no shame in using a knife and fork to eat this one.

Cinnamon Bun Cupcakes

Cinnamon Goo

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Vanilla Cake

4 large eggs
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cinnamon Goo (see above)

Cinnamon Streusel

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Cinnamon Butterscotch

1/2 recipe butterscotch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Buttercream

One recipe French Buttercream or American Frosting
One 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon guar gum (optional) 

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by Eric Isaac

Want to win a copy of Robicellis: A Love Story, With Cupcakes? Tell us in the comments: What's your dream breakfast cupcake? We'll choose one random winner each day, and announce them this Friday! (Unfortunately, we can only ship books within the US.)

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

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    becky
Allison Robicelli is a James Beard-nominated food writer, a Publisher's Weekly-starred author, and lots of other fun things. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she currently lives with her two sons and four cats in Baltimore, Maryland.

38 Comments

Kaitlin C. October 28, 2013
Pancake bacon cupcake with syrup icing.
 
SweetLisa October 24, 2013
Hmm..I think a buttery sweet cupcake with a bit of cornmeal in the batter and Vermont cheddar with candided bacon and chopped smoky ham!
 
jo October 23, 2013
Apple Chunk Cheddar with a streusel top!
 
Mary T. October 23, 2013
Vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing
 
becky October 23, 2013
Blueberry banana oatmeal cupcake
 
Betty October 23, 2013
a french toast cupcake with maple syrup
 
Molly October 23, 2013
So many good choices! But I think a blueberry pancake cupcake, with either cream cheese or even a more-on-the-savory-side buttercream frosting would be divine.
 
monacake October 23, 2013
rhubarb and raspberry cake with lemon cream cheese frosting...please.
 
afielder October 23, 2013
I would love a corn, bacon, and maple cupcake
 
ZombieCupcake October 17, 2013
Banana, Chocolate oat cupcake with peanut butter frosting.
 
Kelsey October 17, 2013
Inspired by my favortie pancakes (from the Griddle in L.A.) kahula batter with irish bream whipped frosting
 
Shikha K. October 17, 2013
Cinnamon goo. Yes.
 
missfats October 16, 2013
A cupcake inspired by my favorite gourmet donut: butterscotch bacon (from Nightwood in Chicago)
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx October 16, 2013
Red velvet cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
 
ATG117 October 16, 2013
For breakfast, I'd have to go with zucchini or carrot.
 
3liz4 October 16, 2013
Chocolate with raspberry curd in the cupcakes with raspberry frosting & chocolate shavings!
 
Boulder B. October 16, 2013
im pretty sure i just met it...
 
Fpd1968 October 16, 2013
Raspberry jam/Pastry cream inside a vanilla-almond cake topped with banana buttercream and fresh raspberries
 
JulieBakes October 16, 2013
I second what KP said! Maybe with a little bacon (candied or plain) on top :)
 
Kp October 16, 2013
French toast with maple syurp whipped cream frosting ?.
 
Allison R. October 16, 2013
In the cookbook.