“Smokeshow” is a hot honey peach cupcake. Let me break it down: a peachy brown butter cinnamon cake, buttery peach + hot honey reduction in the center, a swirl of light and creamy whipped marscapone frosting, crumbly honey streusel topping, and a caramelized peach brushed with hot honey crowning each one.

These are a five element cupcake and very involved. You'll be working but you'll be swooning when you bite into this. They are well worth the hours spent and the dishes.

FOR THIS RECIPE YOU REALLY WANT TO BROWN YOUR BUTTER IN ADVANCE! Preferably, the day before. It needs time after browning to resolidify into room temperature for the cupcake base. To brown butter, swirl it around over medium heat in a pan until lightly browned and fragrantly nutty. It should have "bits" but the bits should not be blackened. Just a warm, toasty brown. Let cool slightly, then pour into a container and let it sit at room temperature until you bake!

Let's dive in. It's getting fuckin' hot in here. This recipe makes 12.

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The Brown Butter Cinnamon Cake

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup brown butter, room temperature.

1 large egg, room temperature.

3 tbsp sour cream, room temperature.

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup whole milk, room temperature

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1. Preheat oven to 350f and line a 12 count standard cupcake pan.

2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. With a paddle attachment or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together for 3-5 minutes at medium high speed until fluffy and lighter in color. Scrape the bowl down.

4. Add the egg, sour cream, and vanilla (1 tbsp bourbon optional!) to the bowl and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl down again.

5. Add half of the flour mixture, then the milk, then the remaining flour until just combined. Don't overmix.

6. Scoop into liners with a #20 scoop or by measuring 2-3 tablespoons per liner.

7. Bake 17-20 minutes until the minute the tops of the cakes spring back when you poke them, or a toothpick comes out clean.

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The Hot Honey Peach Filling

3 tbsp butter

3 peaches, chopped very finely. If the filling doesn't cook down enough, filling the cupcakes will be a bitch because you'll get chunks of peach blocking the end of your piping bag and it will sploot.

1 tbsp granulated sugar

3 tbsp hot honey or 3 tbsp honey with ½ tsp chili powder

Pinch of salt

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1. Brown butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add chopped peaches + sugar, then cook 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat until reduced and softened. Any cooked pieces of peach in the reduction should easily cut in half at a firm push of your spoon or spatula.

3. Once reduced, stir in hot honey and salt. Set aside to cool.

4. Fill cooled cupcakes with a piping bag, cut large enough at the tip that the filling can be piped easily. See my notes on coring out the middle of cupcakes in Cupcake Alchemy 101 at the beginning of this book!

   Whipped Mascarpone Frosting

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1 cup mascarpone cheese

1 tbsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

1 tbsp bourbon or 1 tsp bourbon emulsion (optional)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 to 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar

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1. Whip mascarpone 3-5 minutes on med-high with vanilla and salt to fluff it up and aerate it.

2. Turn the mixer down to med-low and add the cream in a thin stream, so as to not lose your floof. Protect the floof. Thin stream.

3. Continue to beat until it’s basically whipped cream, ‘cause it basically is just marscapone whipped cream. Whip it to soft peaks.

4. Add ya bourbon.

5. Dont overmix that shit because it will curdle and split just like whipped cream does! Keep an eye on it.

6. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on med-low to combine, then the other half. Again, we're not trying to deflate our floof by adding too much shit to the floof at once.

7. If you DO overmix it and it DOES separate/curdle, keep mixer on low and SLOWLY add a little more heavy cream, a tablespoon at a time, JUST until it appears to smooth out.

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The Honey Streusel Topping

¼ cup + 2 tbsp flour

¼ cup butter, very cold

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

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1. Cut butter into ½ inch cubes

2. Make sure it's COLD (if your butter WAS cold but it's hot as balls out, pop the cubed butter in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before continuing)

3. Add butter, sugar, honey to a food processor and blitz for 10 seconds, then add your flour and whip it til it's crumbly and a relatively fine crumb. Or if you like big crunchy streusel bits just ignore me and do whatever pleases you.

4. Spread out THINLY on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on it. Note: If these start to look melted in the oven, don't panic. You will pull them out when they brown and crumble them up with a spatula.

5. Pull them out when they begin to brown (about 10 minutes) and if it's looking a little melted, tap and crumble it up with a spatula. Shuffle it around a bit on the pan and spread it back out. Stick them back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

6. Stare at it. Sprinkle your cupcakes with it. We're almost at the finish line.

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The Smoky Peaches

2 - 3 peaches, sliced (You'll need at least 12 slices)

¼ cup hot honey

2 tbsp butter (if cooking in a pan)

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1. Grill or pan char those shits until they’re smoky, slightly blackened, and shiny.

2. Remove from heat and brush them with hot honey, using a pastry brush or dip into the honey.

3. Let cool completely before adding to cupcakes after you top the frosting with the streusel. It helps if you have refrigerated the frosted cupcakes in the time being.

4. Watch the honey kinda drip down the peaches and over the swirls of buttercream.

5. Nut a little, in your heart, and then enjoy.