Maple Acorn Cakelets

My nickname is Squirrel (spelled SQRL). It was bestowed upon me my freshman year of college and followed me- even when I transferred. I've grown accustomed to it and it followed me into the break dance scene. Needless to say, people like to give me squirrel related things. This cakelet pan from Williams Sonoma had to be mine the second my brother saw it. Best part, it came with a yummy Maple Cream Cheese recipe. You can use other cake recipes, but this one works really well because it doesn't rise as high as a normal cake mix would. It's actually a lot of fun to use different mixes- you can have alllll sorts of colored acorns! Ridiculous cuteness- and kinda time consuming. You can make this in cupcake tins as well! So don't fret if you dont have the mold.

My only suggestion is to cut the frosting in half- I had a bunch left over.

Cakelets:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbs. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Glaze:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs. water

Frosting:
2 tbs. butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbs. maple syrup
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the brown sugar and white sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Spoon batter into 24 greased mini muffin pans. Bake about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then removed to wire rack.

The glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, maple syrup and water. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Set the rack with the cakelets over a sheet of waxed paper. Brush the warm cakelets with the glaze. Let cool completely.

To make the frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, add the maple syrup and confectioners' sugar and beat until combined.

Trim the flat side for a smoother fit, add some frosting, and form the acorn! Sprinkle with tubinado sugar or brown sugar for a lil sparkle.