Honey Nut Cupcakes for Valentine's Day

These honey nut cupcakes for Valentine's Day are just the Valentine's Day treat for the special nut lover in your life.  I gave a honey nut Valentine's Day cupcake to one of the biggest nut lovers in my life - a man who will forever be my Valentine - my dad.  He said without hesitation that this was the best cupcake he had ever tasted.  That's strong praise from my father.  He doesn't mince his words.

The honey nut cupcakes for Valentine's Day are dense, with gobs of nuts and honey squirreled away inside. The cupcakes are "frosted" with honey (to act as a tasty glue) and then rolled in chopped nuts.  Nut lovers will "nut" miss the buttercream, instead they'll go nuts for the huge mound of their favorite stuff.


Honey Nut Cupcake Recipe for Valentine's Day

Yield: 14 cupcakes 

Cake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups coarsely chopped unsalted nuts (Use whatever nuts and/or seeds you like.  I used a mix of pistachios, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and pecans.)

Topping Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup finely chopped unsalted nuts (Use whatever nuts and/or seeds you like.  I used a mix of pistachios, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and pecans.)
• 3/4 cup honey

Cake Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix sugar, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
2. Mix in honey until fully combined.
3. Mix in butter (if you are using an electric mixer, mix on high for about three minutes).
4. Mix in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until fully combined.
5. Mix in nuts.
6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
7. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched.

Topping Directions:

1. Spread a thin layer of honey over cooled cupcakes.
2. Dip honeyed cupcakes into a small bowl filled with the chopped nuts.
3. If the nuts don't stick to any part of the cupcake, add more honey and spoon nuts onto the cupcake until the whole top surface of the cupcake is covered in nuts.

Special Thanks to Sucre and Spice

Special thanks to my friend Brooke from Sucre and Spice for creating the adorable forks to use in the this post and her door-to-door service.  She's the best! Go check out her Etsy shop!