Sweet of the Week #45, Cream Cheese Frosted Spice Cupcakes with Aleppo Pepper

The holiday craziness has taken hold here and I’m finding my baking and blogging time a wee bit limited.  I’ve resorted to using a mix (gasp!) again, but assure you this one is delicious, so worth trying.

Plus, I’m about to share a really handy tip with those of you unashamed to occasionally use a mix in your kitchen.  This tip began as desperation, I needed a spice cake mix to make Cherpumple*, and ended as a tasty surprise.  So here goes…

How to Make a Yellow Cake Mix Into a Spice Cake Mix
Using one Betty Crocker gluten-free yellow cake mix, add the following:
1/2 t. powdered cloves
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. powdered ginger

To incorporate this week’s Ingredient, Aleppo pepper, I also added 1 teaspoon of crushed pepper flakes to the spice blend.  WOW!  This may be my favorite ingredient of the entire year!  Aleppo pepper has a hint of heat along with a hint of sweet with a visible oil sheen on the flakes.  Since making the first batch of these cupcakes, I’ve used the pepper flakes on stir-fried vegetables and on pizza.  Then I made more of these cupcakes, just to make sure I wasn’t mistaken the first time.  I was not, they are delicious. 

Here’s the scoop on the cupcakes.  Mix the cake mix according to the directions on the box.  Add the spices listed above, plus the Aleppo pepper flakes.  Bake according to the directions.  Top with this yummy dairy-free cream cheese frosting and sprinkle a few Aleppo pepper flakes on top.  That’s it, super easy yet an impressive flavor combination that doesn’t scream that it came from a box.

Give it a try!  If you like a little bit of sweet heat, you’ll enjoy this one. 

*I’ll be sharing my Cherpumple adventures in a post about holiday baking soon.  Promise. I simply can’t pass up the opportunity to tell you about the 10 pound gluten- and dairy-free three pie/three cake monstrosity I took to a friend’s holiday gathering.  But first I need to run exactly 27.773 miles to burn off the calories I consumed eating two servings of this crazy creation.