Mushroom Cupcakes – A Candy Cap Mushroom Dessert Recipe

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Candy cap cupcakes are a sweet dessert made with candy cap mushrooms – a special kind of mushroom that tastes like maple syrup! The mushroom cupcakes are incredibly light and moist with a maple, nutty flavor.

A group of candy cap mushroom cupcakes

What Are Candy Cap Mushrooms?

Candy cap mushrooms are sweet mushrooms. They are one of the only varieties of mushroom recommended for use in desserts.

They smell just like maple syrup – in fact, the candy cap syrup that I’ll show you how to make for these cupcakes works really well on pancakes!

You won’t be able to find these mushrooms at your local grocery store. They aren’t even readily available online. I was able to find dehydrated candy caps at Wine Forest Wild Foods.

Candy Cap Mushroom

You can rehydrate them and use them in sweet and savory cooking or grind them down to a powder to mix with sugar and give desserts (such as crème brûlée) a wonderful maple flavor.

If you are skilled in foraging and live in the western United States where they can be found, I suggest reading up on how to identify them. My favorite part of the article from the Bay Area Mycological Society is:

Sadly enough for our myco-friends in the Mid-West and the North-East, candy caps do not occur in their parts of the country. After a good year of collecting here in California, I make it a point to send candy cap care packages back East. They cause much appreciation amongst my friends, and much confusion amongst the postal workers (the fragrance of candy caps is so strong that the whole package smells like maple syrup!).

The smell of candy caps is truly intoxicating!

How to Make Candy Cap Mushroom Cupcakes

The mushroom cupcakes are made using a mushroom syrup in both the cupcakes and the frosting. To make the syrup, boil dehydrated candy cap mushrooms in sugar water.

I also place a candy cap mushroom in the center of each cupcake before baking.

Candy cap mushroom cupcakes before going into the oven

Finally, I top each cupcake with mushroom frosting and one of the rehydrated mushrooms used to make the syrup.

Candy Cap Mushroom Cupcakes

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5 from 3 votes

Mushroom Cupcakes

Candy cap cupcakes are a sweet dessert made with candy cap mushrooms - a special kind of mushroom that tastes like maple syrup! The mushroom cupcakes are incredibly light and moist with a maple, nutty flavor.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 18 cupcakes
Calories 309kcal
Author Stefani

Ingredients

Mushroom Syrup Ingredients

  • 18 dried candy cap mushrooms
  • 2 cups water cool
  • 1 cup granulated sugar

Mushroom Cupcake Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2/3 cup mushroom syrup from above, just the syrup - reserve the mushrooms floating in the syrup
  • 18 dried candy cap mushrooms

Mushroom Frosting Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup mushroom syrup just the syrup - reserve the mushrooms floating in the syrup
  • 18 candy cap mushrooms from the mushroom syrup

Instructions

Mushroom Syrup Instructions

  • In a medium-sized saucepan, soak candy caps in water for fifteen minutes.
  • Stir in sugar.
  • Bring the syrup to a low boil over medium-low heat.
  • Simmer for about twenty minutes. Taste to make sure that it is sweet enough.

Mushroom Cupcake Instructions

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and baking soda.
  • In another medium-sized bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in eggs and Greek yogurt until blended.
  • Alternately fold in flour mixture and mushroom syrup.
  • Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
  • Stick a dried candy cap mushroom into the center of each unbaked cupcake, stem first, with the cap sticking above the batter (as shown in the photo of the cupcake tin above).
  • Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of a cupcake cleanly.

Mushroom Frosting Instructions

  • Mix butter and powdered sugar until well combined.
  • Mix in mushroom syrup.
  • Spread on cupcakes.
  • Top cupcakes with mushrooms from the mushroom syrup.

Notes

This is not a thick frosting. It cannot be piped and will have to be spread.
Try using the leftover mushroom syrup on pancakes!

Nutrition

Calories: 309kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 162mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 420IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg
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