Sugar Donut Cupcakes

I love donuts.  The first time I tasted a hot Krispy Kreme donut I couldn't believe how yummy it was.  I was really excited when Krispy Kreme finally came to Canada.  But now you can hardly find Krispy Kreme shops around.  When my dad would go for Juma (Friday prayers) he would pick up a dozen donuts from Tim Hortons on the way home.  I think some days I would eat 3 in one day or maybe it was 4.  I had to tell my dad to stop getting them because I was gaining weight.  When I came across this recipe I had to give it a try.  There was so little fat.  These cupcakes don't taste like donuts but they are really yummy.  Next time I would prefer to just sugar the top rather than all over.  My husband asked me how I got the sugar to stick and I told him I rolled them in butter.  He was surprised I would do that but then I explained the actual cupcake had so little fat that I thought it was fine to do the rolling in butter.  I read on another site that you can even skip the butter and roll them in sugar when they are still hot but I think the butter adds a nice flavor.  The original recipe served these with ice cream and whip cream.  I didn't have either and I thought they still tasted great without it.

Sugar Donut Cupcakes
20something Cupcakes
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3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups cake flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
3/4 cup buttermilk**
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla powder)
3 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease muffin tin with cooking/oil spray.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and egg together until light in colour.

In a small bowl sift the flour , baking powder, salt, nutmeg and vanilla powder (if using).  Add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and stir to combine.  Add the oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract (if using).  Stir until just combined being careful not to overmix.

Spoon batter into 10 muffin cups filling 3/4 full.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until a tester inserted i the center comes out clean.

Once your cupcakes are done, melt the butter and pour the remaining sugar into a small bowl.  Roll one muffin in butter and then the sugar.  Repeat with remaining muffins.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.

* If you don't have cake flour, replace 2 tbsp of the flour with cornstarch and sift several times. I sifted 6 times.

**I never buy buttermilk so I added 3/4 tbsp of lemon juice to a measuring cup and added enough milk to make 3/4 cup.  Allow to sit 5 minutes.  You can also use vinegar instead of the lemon juice.