Canada Day Tim Bit Cupcakes

There are some things in Canada that are sacred. Hockey, first and foremost. Next come our heroes: figures like Terry Fox, Rick Hansen, and Don Cherry (Sorry, gotta love the Grapes). Then it's our national dishes that we share (Nanaimo Bars, Butter Tarts, Poutine) and all that Can Con which spreads across our air waves (Corner Gas, Just for Laughs, Littlest Hobo). You Americans may have heard us name drop these things here and there, but I doubt you really know how close we hold them to our hearts. They are what separates us from, well, you.

There is one place that you have tried to bring across the border, but have failed multiple times. One house of Canadian worship that fuels our souls and hearts. It gives us shelter at 4am before hockey practice, and keeps us going throughout those long winter nights.

Tim Horton's. It may be a doughnut shop to outsiders, but, for us, it's a way of life.

Named after a beloved hockey player, Timmy Ho's is more Canadian than the maple leaf. It is here we get our most holy of all food stuffs - the Tim Bit. You may call them "donut holes", but you are wrong. Tim Bits are so much more than that. They are truly an experience you can only have north of the border. Every kid in Canada will tell you the same story: entering your neighbourhood Tim's with twitchy fingers, looking through the basket upon basket of those little round morsels of perfection. Everyone had their favourite - Old Fashioned, the Dutchie, Jam-filled and Powdered, Cinnamon Sugar - but you all agreed that, when that little yellow box of goodness was passed around, you would never refuse.

For this year's Canada Day, I finally got around to using the most holy of doughnut holes in my cupcakes. We placed a chocolate bit inside our doughnut cake, frosted it all with a nutmeg sour cream icing, and topped it all off with an Old Fashioned (my perennial favourite). Truly godly enough to make even the most stoic of carabo cry.

So, on this July 1st, remember what separates us from the Americans: a shitty cup of coffee and little fried balls of dough.

Oh Tim's, how we love you.

Canada Day Tim Bit Cupcakes
Makes a dozen cupcakes 


1 1/2 cups flour 
1/2 cup sugar 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon  
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup butter (melted) 
1/2 cup full fat sour cream 
2 Tablespoons milk
2 eggs 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Chocolate Tim Bits (cut in half)


1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients until completely combined: butter, sour cream, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Mix carefully with a wooden spoon until everything is completely incorporated and you've got a thick batter. 


 2) Place one tablespoon of batter into each of your lined cupcake tins. Place a half of a chocolate tim bit on top of the batter, than cover each one in another heaping tablespoon of batter. Bake for around 18 to 20 minutes, or until your cake tester comes out clean and your cupcake is very slightly golden. Set out to cool before icing.


Nutmeg Sour Cream Frosting
1/2 cup full fat sour cream
1 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon nutmeg
confectioner's sugar (about 2 1/2 cups)
12 old fashioned tim bits (to top)

1) In your mixing bowl, pour in your sour cream and your butter. Mix until the two are well combined, then add your vanilla and nutmeg and continue to mix. Slowly add your confectioner's sugar until it's reached your desired taste and stiffness - we add around 2 to 3 cups, but you may want different results. Pipe on top of your cooled cupcakes, and top with an old fashioned tim bit. Enjoy while crying a tear of maple syrup.