Description
These Hamburger Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting are a meat lovers dream come true. I whipped the eggs to lighted the meat, and baked the piped mashed potatoes on top to brown them. The result, a fabulously meaty twist with all the beefy goodness you crave—no fork required.
Ingredients
For the Meat Filling
- 2 pounds lean ground beef, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature, separated
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed, or one frozen garlic cube defrosted
- 1/4 cup carrots, finely shredded
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- pinch of salt
- foil lined cupcake cups
For the Mashed Potato Topping (easy method)
- 3 – 3 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes (I used Idahoan)
- 1/4 cup garlic oil or 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + 4 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 cups vegan milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the “Cheese” Sauce
- 1 cup Daiya shredded plant based cheddar
- 1 cup plant based milk
To Finish
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Decorative toothpicks (optional)
Instructions
For the Meat Filling
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Place the ground beef in a large bowl.
- Break up any large pieces of meat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg yolks until tripled in volume and pale yellow – around 3 minutes.
- Fold the yolks into the ground beef, mixing until just combined.
- Fold in the onions, carrots and pepper.
- Set the meat mixture aside.
- In a clean dry mixing bowl, with clean dry beaters, whip the whites with the salt until stiff but not dry.
- Carefully fold into the meat mixture, being careful not to stir too vigorously.
- Mix until mixture is completely combined.
For the Mashed Potato Topping (easy method)
- In a large bowl combine the dried mashed potatoes, oil, milk, eggs +salt and pepper until completely smooth. If the potatoes are too loose add more dried mashed potatoes 1/4 cup at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Spoon the mashed potatoes into a large piping bag with a hole cut on the bottom or a large circular piping tip placed inside. Alternately, you can use a large Ziplock bag with a hole cut in a corner.
For Baking
- You can either bake the Hamburger Cupcakes directly in foil lined baking cups (DO NOT USE PLAIN PAPER, THEY WILL NOT HOLD UP), or directly in a cupcake pan without baking cups. If you bake them directly in baking cups they can be transferred to foil lined baking cups after baking.
- Spoon into the prepared muffin cups/tins.
- Place the potatoes into a pastry bag (if using) and pipe the potatoes onto the baked meat muffins.
- Pipe circular “frosting” swirls on to the top of the meat. If not using a pastry bag, spoon the potatoes onto the tops of the baked meat muffins. See note below.
- Bake for 30 minutes in the center of the oven, then switch to medium broil and broil for 10-15 minutes until the tops of the potatoes are golden brown.
For the “Cheese” Sauce
- Place the “cheese” and milk in a microwave safe glass or bowl.
- Microwave for a minute at a time, whisking after each minute, until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is very smooth with no lumps.
To Finish
- If the Hamburger cupcakes were baked directly in a pan, use a knife to loosen them from the sides of the pan. Transfer them to foil lined baking cups.
- Serve with cheese sauce and Everything Bagel Spice on the side.
- Best served warm, but these are good cold too!
Equipment
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Pyrex 8-piece 100 Years Glass Mixing Bowl Set (Limited Edition) – Assorted Colors Lids
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Tovolo Tool for Kitchen Meal Prep to Scoop Spread Slice and Scrape, Cayenne, Small
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You can make the mashed potatoes from scratch if you have a good recipe. Just make sure they are smooth enough to pipe and contain some egg so they maintain their shape.
If you choose to add the mashed potato topping after baking the filling (also a good option), bake the topped Hamburger Cupcakes for an additional 20 minutes, then broil for around 10 minutes until golden brown.
You can bake the Hamburger Cupcakes in foil lined baking cups or you can bake them in a muffin tin and then transfer them to foil lined baking cups. I’ve found that the meat can stick to the sides of the foil lined cups if baked directly in them, so I baked mine in disposable aluminum pans then transferred them. The choice is up to you and the difference is minimal.
Just for fun (if you’re a pyromaniac like me) you can use your handy blow torch to brown the cupcakes as well 😀
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Hamburger Cupcake with Mashed Potato Frosting
- Calories: 128
- Sugar: 1.4 g
- Sodium: 260.7 mg
- Fat: 4.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 13.1 g
- Cholesterol: 68.3 mg
