churro cupcakes (the perfect cinco de mayo treat!)

Cinco de Mayo, or “Fifth of May”, is right around the corner! Ay Dios Mio! Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday we celebrate here in the United States. What better way to celebrate than with my favorite Mexican treat: churros.
Churros are deep fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar. What’s not to love? I have never met anyone who doesn’t like churros.
When I was little and we lived in San Diego, my dad and I would go to Sea World almost every weekend to walk around and see the animals. One of my favorite memories of these trips was getting a big, fresh cinnamon churro at one of the little snack stands around the park. As you can imagine, I was obsessed with cinnamon even back then!  They were crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. What made these churros super delicious though, was the fresh, warm dulce de leche that the churro man would pipe into to fried doughnut. Perfection.
Alas, the thing about real churros is they are only good fresh, right out of the fryer, when they still have that irresistible crunch to them.
These cupcakes are the perfect solution — as they have that delicious, churro taste, and are portable and keep well.
My dad loved these cupcakes and said that they were even better than our much loved Sea World treat, can’t get much better than that!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo to you all!
With love, Erica

Being filled with luscious dulce de leche

 For the frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
8 tablespoons margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the margarine and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the vanilla and cinnamon until well combined.
Reduce the mixer to low speed, and gradually add the powdered sugar until mixed.  Add the milk or heavy cream until you get your desired consistency.

For the fried tortillas:
Two or three 8-inch flour tortillas, cut into desired shape (I used a star shaped cookie cutter)
Oil, for frying
1 cup mixture of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar, mixed to your liking of desired sweetness (I do 1/2 cup of each.)

In a deep frying pan, heat the oil (about 3/4-inch in depth) on medium heat until very hot. I tested this by putting in a small piece of tortilla to make sure it would fry.  I did not try to aim for a specific temperature.
Fry a few of the tortilla strips at a time, turning them with tongs until lightly browned on both sides (about 5-10 seconds on each side).
Place the strips on paper towel, and, while they are still warm, sprinkle both sides generously with the cinnamon-sugar combination.
Repeat with the remaining tortilla strips.