vanilla cupcakes.



It is surprising to me that this blog has been up a month now and I have yet to blog cupcakes. As all my friends and family know, I have some sort of a cupcake obsession. It isn't even that I think they are an amazing tasting dessert, but there is just something so comforting and appealing about looking at them or having one in your hand. Plus, baking them is just about one of my favorite things to do. Really, what is it about the cupcake that is so very wonderful? Is it the small size? The swirls of sugary-sweet frosting piled on top? The adorable look of them? Whatever it is, we all love them.

On our way home from getting coffee, I realized it had been way too long since I last baked some (I used to do it on an almost daily basis!). So I went for some simple vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream on top. This recipe hails from one of my favorite comedic minds, Miss Amy Sedaris. Because among being a hilarious female comedian, her cupcakes were voted the second best in New York City.





Vanilla Cupcakes: from Amy Sedaris's I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put paper liners in your pan.
Put butter in an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until somewhat smooth. Pour in sugar and beat well. Add the eggs and mix well. Add in vanilla, baking powder, salt, flour, and milk. Beat until it looks like it's supposed to and pour into baking cups, until they are about 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Frost when cool.



Soft Vanilla Bean Buttercream: from Cupcake Bakeshop

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Sift powdered sugar into the mixer bowl (right on top of the beaten butter). Beat to combine.
Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the frosting. Add the vanilla and the milk. Beat until combined.

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