The BEST Vanilla Cupcakes + the BEST Vanilla Frosting
In all of my years of cooking and recipe testing, these are truly the BEST Vanilla Cupcakes + the BEST Vanilla Frosting I have ever had. Soft and tender cupcakes with a fluffy, delicious vanilla frosting. -- When it comes to cupcakes, these will be your new best friend!
I just love it when I find an absolutely fabulous recipe I know I can trust to come out great every time, and that I know will be loved every time. And the recipe for these vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting is one of those recipes, my friends.
Don't be fooled by the simplicity of vanilla-with-vanilla these cupcakes are out-of-this-world good. They're my tried-and-true. My go-to. My best friend of cupcakes, one could say.
And speaking of best friends ...
... today is my best friend Jacquelyn's birthday!
She and I have been friends since the 7th grade ... and trust me, 7th grade was a very long time ago. Mmmm hmmmm, we've been friends for over 30 years ... and have seen each other through a lot of life crud {to put it nicely}.
I am so glad to have been able to get together with her for a couple of days in Savannah, GA the week before last to early-celebrate her birthday with her! With Jacquelyn now living in Portland, OR and me living in Lexington, NC, we don't get to see each other nearly often enough. But we sure have fun when we do!
Check us out gettin' the birthday fun started with a couple of delicious dinners ...
Always, always good times when we get together.
So in celebration of Jacquelyn's birthday, I decided to share these scrumptious always-a-favorite, best-ever vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting.
The cupcake is tender and light. The frosting is fluffy and not heavy ... just the way I love it. On it's own, each component is fantastic. Put them together? and it's completely divine.
And just like time with a best friend, I always always wish there were more.
Thank you for stopping by . We'd love to have you back soon!
Yield: 12 cupcakes
The BEST Vanilla Cupcakes + the BEST Vanilla Frosting
In all of my years of cooking and recipe testing, these are truly the BEST Vanilla Cupcakes + the BEST Vanilla Frosting I have ever had. When it comes to cupcakes, these will be your new best friend!
prep time: 25 Mcook time: 30 Mtotal time: 55 M
ingredients:
Vanilla Cupcakes:
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 c. granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 3 T. butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 c. whole milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla Frosting:
- 1 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
- 3 c. confectioners sugar
- 1 T. + 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 T. milk
- Pinch salt
instructions:
How to cook The BEST Vanilla Cupcakes + the BEST Vanilla Frosting
Vanilla Cupcakes:
- Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in mixing bowl. Beat on slow speed until everything is combined and you have a crumb mixture with a sandy consistency. Gradually pour in half of the milk; beat until the milk is just incorporated.
- Whisk together the remaining milk (1/4 cup), egg, and vanilla. Pour into the flour mixture and beat until all ingredients are just incorporated.
- Beat for about another 30 seconds to one minute until the batter is smooth. Do not over mix.
- Spoon batter into muffin pan cups lined with paper cupcake liners, filling cups 1/2 full.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until light golden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool slightly in the pan before removing cupcakes to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Frosting:
- Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Reduce speed to low and add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for about 15 seconds between each addition. Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Add salt, vanilla and milk, beating on low speed to combine. Increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, 3-4 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides once or twice.
TRACEY'S NOTES
- This recipe makes 12 cupcakes. And it really does make 12! Fill your cups only 1/2 full, as this batter rises quite a bit. When I divided the batter between only 10 muffin cups, I had several that rose over the sides of the cups way too much. If you're like me, you'll feel like there's not enough batter to stretch to 12 cupcakes ... but there really is.
Cupcakes adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, frosting adapted from The Best Recipe by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine
You might also like these other delicious cupcake creations:
Read more..