Root Beer Float Cupcakes

It's 105 degrees outside.

Most people would be happy drinking a root beer float. Not me.

I have to turn my oven up to 350 degrees and add to the heat radiating through my walls of my house.

Let me tell you, it was SO worth it.

(I'm also getting a head start on the America's Test Kitchen Bloggers Challenge for the end of August.)

I love cupcakes and I love old recipes. While waiting on my delicious cupcakes to come out of the oven, I decided to search through some OLD cookbooks to see what the original version of cupcakes were.

While searching around, I realized there is no set origin for the word "cupcake". Some argue that it came from  the time when recipes were being switched from weight measurements to what we consider the standard measurements of cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. The word "cup" referred to the type of measurement used, therefore breaking cakes into a new category of "cup cakes".

Others argue that the name "cupcake" came from cakes that were baked in individual cups or ramekins.

While I can find no proof to substantiate the origin coming from the type of measurement, I can find a reference in a 1796 cook book American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons on page 48 that says:
 "A light Cake to bake in small cups.
Half a pound sugar, half a pound butter, rubbed into two pounds flour, one glass wine, one do. rosewater, two do. emptins, a nutmeg, cinnamon and currants."

While "emptins" is referring to the yeast from a barrel of ale, other recipes of the early 1800's (such as The Frugal Housewife from 1830) say "When you have no eggs, a gill of lively emptings will do." So I assume that an egg can be used in place of the yeast. 


Yeast or egg, either way, the original "cup cake" recipe written in 1796, sounds more like a biscuit or type of bread than our modern sweet cake topped with frosting. 


OK enough with your American Cookery history lesson. 


Onto what you came here for. Delicious, 21st century cupcakes, made with the help of modern technological marvels. 

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Who doesn't love to go to the mall, walk past the food court and see those oh so gooey cinnamon rolls sitting there, covered in mass amounts of cream cheese frosting, waiting to be eaten?

Then you think of the extra calories that you're about to indulge in. You blindly turn your head and walk the other way. Or, you vow to skip a meal and give in.

My solution is to turn all that ooey-gooey goodness into a breakfast. You can eat 2 or 3 of these pancakes and still have consumed around 100 less calories than you would eating that one cinnamon roll. A Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll, according to Cinnabon.com, contains 880 calories and 36g of fat. These pancakes 614 calories and 30.9g of fat per serving. Plus you eat them for breakfast, as a meal. It should be a decent amount of calories to keep you going until lunch.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

The Filling

4 Tbs Unsalted Butter, melted

1/2 C Packed Brown Sugar

1 Tbs Ground Cinnamon

Mix it together until smooth, pour into a pastry bag and set aside.

The Frosting

2 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1 C Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Tbs milk

Mix it together until smooth, pour into another pastry bag and set aside.

The Pancake

1 C All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

Dash Salt

1 large egg

1 C Milk

1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Whisk in egg, milk and vanilla.

In a large non-stick skillet or on a griddle, over medium-low heat, ladle out about 1/4 C batter at a time. Snip the tip off the pastry bag containing the Cinnamon Filling. Swirl it around in the batter in a spiral pattern. Cook until the surface is bubbled and bottom side is golden brown. Flip and continue to cook the second side until lightly browned.

When ready to serve, snip the tip off the pastry bag containing the frosting. Swirl it over the pancakes.