Peach Pie Cupcakes

Facebook kindly reminded me this morning that I had been at MIT for a year now, showing me a picture of my roommate and I posing with the mascot, Tim the beaver. On one hand, it's kind of hard to believe that it's already been a year - it felt like the months flew by! On the other hand, I also somehow feel like I've been in Cambridge forever and that I'm definitely used to my life here now.

In baking news though, did you know that Monday was National Peach Pie Day? Well, I found out about it too late to make a peach pie to celebrate, but better late than never, right?

Because of my aversion to making pie crust (I'll get over it eventually), I decided to make peach pie cupcakes instead. I've made apple pie cupcakes before, and these are sort of similar.

The cake is a cinnamon cupcake with chunks of peaches in it, while the frosting also has peaches for added flavor. The result is a perfectly peachy cupcake in honor of National Peach Pie Day!

Peach Pie Cupcakes (makes about a dozen cupcakes)
Recipe adapted from Life Love and Sugar

Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/8 cup (86 g) of plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 2/3 cup (208 g) flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup peaches, diced

Frosting:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening, softened
• 2-2 1/2 cup (240 - 300 g) powdered sugar
• 2-4 Tbsp peach puree 
• Peaches for topping, if desired 

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tins with liners.
2. Cream butter in stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add in white and brown sugars and continue mixing until smooth.
4. Add in egg whites, vanilla, sour cream, and milk and continue mixing until smooth.
5. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt separately.
6. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix until just combined.
7. Fold in diced peaches.
8. Add about 3 Tbsp of batter per liner.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let cool completely before frosting.
11. To make frosting, cream butter and shortening together until light and fluffy.
12. Add in about 2 cups of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
13. Add in 2 Tbsp of peach puree to start. 
14. Add more puree and/or powdered sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.
15. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and top with a peach slice.
16. Enjoy!