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Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Pear Butter Filling

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Pear Butter Filling! If you're ready for the flavors of fall, you'll find them all wrapped up in this sweet treat: A fluffy vanilla-infused cupcake with a spiced pear butter center. Autumn in a cupcake!
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time14 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 15 cupcakes
Author: The Kitchen Prep

Ingredients

For Cupcakes

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean pod seeds scraped
  • 1¾ cups cake flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • ⅓ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ⅔ cup whole milk

For Filling

For Frosting

  • 12 tablespoons butter room temperature
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Make Cupcakes

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cupcake tins with liners. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine granulated sugar and vanilla bean seeds until well blended.
  • Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to vanilla sugar. Mix until well blended.
  • Beat in softened butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla. Pour liquid into flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Pour milk in slowly, mixing until just combined. (The batter will be liquidy. That's how it should be!)
  • Fill each liner a little over halfway full. Bake for 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Make Frosting

  • Beat butter, sugar and cinnamon together until smooth and sugar begins to blend in. (This may take a few minutes.)
  • Slowly add in confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time until well blended.
  • Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. (Some of the brown sugar crystals may still be visible.)

Assemble

  • With a sharp paring knife (or an apple corer... it's my favorite tool for this task!), cut a well in the middle of each cooled cupcake. (Save the cake for snacking.)
  • Fill a piping bag or zip top storage bag with the tip snipped with about ½ cup of pear butter. Fill each cupcake to top of well.
  • Fill a separate piping bag with frosting and desired decorative tip. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
  • If desired, sprinkle lightly with extra cinnamon and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Notes

Cake adapted from The Cupcake Project, Caramel-Pear Butter from Epicurious