Chicken & Waffles Cupcakes with Maple Syrup Frosting

Now when I first saw this recipe via Formal Fringe ,I thought this would rank down there with "Bacon Ice Cream" where it sounds good in theory, but never good in reality.This waffle-inspired yellow buttermilk cupcake is topped with maple syrup buttercream frosting and a mini helping of chicken and waffles....but more importantly the cupcake is infused with a shot of straight-up maple syrup right in the center.

Chicken & Waffles Cupcakes
(Cake adapted from Martha Stewart, with an original frosting recipe, makes 24 cupcakes)

For the buttermilk cakes:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup maple syrup
  

For the maple syrup frosting & topping:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 24 waffle pieces
• 24 chicken nuggets
• maple syrup to drizzle

Make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line two cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.
3. Sift or whisk together both flours, baking soda, baking power and salt.
4. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium and add the whole eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the egg yolks and beat until thoroughly combined.
5. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with two additions of buttermilk. Be sure to mix well after each addition.
6. Beat in the vanilla extract last.
7. Pour the batter into liners, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way up.
   
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test. Lift them out onto wire racks to cool.
   

With a food injector, inject roughly one teaspoon of maple syrup into the center of each cooled cupcake.

Make the frosting:

1. In a small bowl, beat together the butter and syrup until blended. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting is smooth. If the frosting is too thick, add just enough maple syrup or milk to thin out the consistency.
2. Ice and decorate the cupcakes by piping a ring of frosting onto each. With a toothpick or wooden pick, skewer a chicken nugget and waffle piece together, then slide the pick into the top of the cupcake. Drizzle the top with a bit of maple syrup.
   

For the complete recipe and photo tutorial, go to Formal Fringe