I was thinking of making some oatmeal pancakes but my husband gave me a stand mixer for Mother’s Day and I so enjoy using it. Pancakes do not really require the use of an electric mixer — a wire whisk or even a fork is usually sufficient. So I thought I’d bake something more special. I had time — the kids were still in bed and, according to my calculations, the cupcakes would be ready by the time they got up.
These cupcakes were made using the basic buttery cupcakes recipe. However, I reduced the sugar and added 200 grams of chopped smoked porkloin (you can use any good quality smoked ham) and 200 grams of quickmelt cheese (the equivalent in North America is Velveeta, according to long time readers) to make these cupcakes for breakfast today. I debated for a few minutes whether to use cream cheese instead of quickmelt cheese but since I’m planning on baking a cheesecake later in the day, I decided to save the cream cheese.
Before I go on with the recipe, please bear in mind that there is a world of difference between batter-type cakes and sponge (including chiffon) cakes. Sponge cakes are light and airy because of the air bubbles formed in the egg whites after beating them to stiffness. This is a batter-type cake — they are compact and heavy. And the smoked porkloin and quickmelt cheese make them even heavier. My daughter, Alex, commented how heavy the cupcake was after she took one from the kitchen table. I thought it meant it was so heavy one would be enough for breakfast. She had two anyway. 
Ingredients :
1-1/4 c. of all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/2 c. of butter or margarine (I used 1/4 c. butter and 1/4 c. margarine because I didn’t have enough of either)
3/4 c. of white sugar
3 eggs
200 grams of smoked porkloin (or ham)
200 grams of quickmelt cheese
1 c. of milk
1/2 tsp. of salt
Bake the cupcakes :
Measure 1/4 c. of flour and place in a large bowl.
Chop the smoked porkloin (or ham) coarsely. Cut the cheese into half-inch cubes. Add the smoked porkloin (or ham) and the cubed cheese to the flour and toss to coat each piece well. This will prevent the meat and cheese from sinking to the bottom of the batter while baking.
Sift together the remaining 1 cup of flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream the butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Pour in the sourmilk and vanilla, and stir. Add the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Add the smoked porkloin (or ham) and cheese. Fold gently to distribute as evenly as possible.
Fill the cupcake pans until 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated 160oC oven for 20 minutes.
As I have said in the buttery cupcakes recipe, after 20 minutes of baking, turn off the oven but leave the cupcakes inside for another 10 minutes. Then, partially open the oven door for another 5 minutes before taking out the pan. It helps prevent the centers of the cupcakes from sinking.
i’ve already experimented with your buttery cupcakes recipe before, one time i added grated cheese, the other time i used pandan flavor instead of vanilla. my friends loved them and the muffins…
actually my friend wants to have a 1 on 1 baking lesson with me, nah, i just gave your website… sabi ko dito lang ako kumuha ng recipes, all you have to do is follow the steps.
connie!
sarap naman nito and looks so doable! thanks for the recipe! can i substitute bacon pala?
phynkee, go give the lessons and charge them per head hahahahaha
ces, naku, that was my plan for version 2. but i think the bacon should be cooked first.
hahaha! oo nga noh!
Hi Connie! I love reading your blog – your recipes are so easy and quick, which is great for a student like me! I’m studying in Australia now, and I’m not sure what quickmelt cheese really is. Any substitutes for that?
go, phynkee!
hi von, according to pinoys in the US, the nearest equivalent is Velveeta. Personally, I think Velveeta is a better cheese than the local quickmelt. Too expensive here though.
Hi Connie,I tried your buttery cupcake recipe today ,their good I’ll try these too with the ham & quickmelt cheese.I wanna make sure sa Ingredients mo 1 cup of milk,Vanilla is missing.But your procedures It says sourmilk & vanilla,Namissed mo lang siguro right?Please let me know.I wanna ask you about the butter I used unsalted one.Is it ok?Thank you.
wow..this looks so yummy!!
i read before at NY Times online that in Southern cooking, they use bacon fat drippings as a flavoring to bread/cupcake batter..so decadent! Pamatay! hehehe
HI COnnie,
thanks for your wonderful recipe, as alwys. I’m a working mom, who only have time to cook during weekends. I will definitely give this one a try. thanks again for sharing your wonderful recipes.
May I ask how many cupcakes were you able to make from the listed ingredients, so that I would know how much meausrements I need to satisfy the quantities I need.
Luz, I omitted the vanilla because I didn’t think it would go well with the smoked porkloin. Butter is unsalted.
Julie, traditional southern cooking also uses lard for frying chicken.
Jo, I was able to make 12.
ate connie, did you use sourmilk or plain milk? medyo naconfuse kasi ko. kasi im planning on making this but il omit the ham. gusto ko lang kasi ng cheese cupcake na gawa ko. pde bang fresh milk na lang?thanks po
Ah it was sourmilk. The first time I baked these cupcakes, I used fresh milk but someone suggested sourmilk instead so that was what I used with this batch.
Hi Connie
Do you mean the sour milk to be 1 cup of milk with 1 tbsp of vinegar?
Yes.
Hi Connie
When I was making the buttery cupcakes, after creaming the butter and sugar, I added the eggs one at a time but the butter did not mix well into the eggs. All the more when I poured in the sour milk. After mixing in the flour mixture, this became watery. What was wrong?
Possibilities: Eggs or butter not at room temp or eggs are not so fresh.
thanks Connie. I will try again.
Hi Connie
I had to bake the cupcakes again to see where I failed the last time … remember the watery batter? What I did was to alternate the flour mixture with the sour milk instead of pouring the milk and vanilla and then mixing in the flour. The cupcakes also did not bake for 20 min in 160 deg C temperature but 30 minutes. Happy to say it was successful.