Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes

For Dave's birthday, I knew I was going to get roped into making cupcakes (especially after the success of the Spice Cupcakes).  And I knew that he would probably want a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting.  He's a little predictable that way.  I'd invited a few people over to celebrate with Dave, but only wanted a recipe with about a dozen or so cupcakes to avoid leftovers.  And I knew these needed to be good with delicious and beautiful frosting.  I totally win with these.  The cake was perfect--not too sweet, a gentle vanilla flavor and a fluffy texture.  The frosting--oh the frosting.  I honestly didn't know I had it in me.  Plus, I got all fancy and bought the big icing tips to make pretty swirls on top.  And when things are pretty they taste even better, so I had that going for me.  (I let Dave lick the beater and I got the tip and spoon.  This is really good buttercream frosting.)

I owe all my success with these cupcakes to Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker.  Yet again another beautiful recipe that's easy to follow and hard to screw up. Just because Dave is such a fan of vanilla, I might scrape a vanilla bean into the batter or the frosting (or both!) in future renditions, but frankly these are perfect as is.  They tasted and looked very professional, but more importantly, everyone loved them, including the birthday boy.



Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Add butter, sour cream, egg, egg yolks and vanilla.  Beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny (about 30 seconds).  Scrape sides of bowl with a spatula and mix by hand until all the flour is incorporated and batter is smooth.

Divide batter evenly among lined cupcake pan.  Note: I used a standard ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. Note: Michelle baked hers for 20-24 minutes, but I had to go to 30 minutes, checking in 2 minute increments.  Cupcakes are done when the tops are a pale golden color and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce speed to low and gradually add powdered sugar.
 

When all the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and add vanilla.  Mix until incorporated.  Continue to whip until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Decorate cupcakes as desired, either by spreading frosting with an offset spatula or piping on with your preferred tip and design.

Makes 12 frosted cupcakes.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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