Hi Everyone,
Today I come baring gifts, soft and squidgy, cupcake shaped gifts.
This Vanilla Cupcake recipe is, for me, the best vanilla cupcake recipe ever! I know, bold statement right?
Back when I was making cupcakes at Buttercream Bakery, I spent months and months baking, testing and tweaking endless Vanilla Cupcake recipes until I found my magic formula. This beauty of a recipe is the result of all that research.
For me, this really is the ultimate vanilla cupcake recipe.
They are beautifully soft, light and fluffy, moist, sweet, buttery and generously vanilla bean studded. They rise into a beautiful dome and pair so well with every buttercream and frosting in existence, so you can fill and frost them with an endless combination of flavours.
Here I have topped my Vanilla Cupcakes with silky smooth Vanilla Bean Buttercream and our extraordinary Unicorn Sprinkles.
Visit our Sprinkle Shop for more details.
Visit our Sprinkle Shop for more details.
Notes on the Recipe:Use room temperature ingredients to make your cupcakes. If you use cold butter, milk or eggs to make these cupcakes they will NOT come out perfectly. You absolutely must use room temperature ingredients.
Every time I post a picture of a vanilla cupcake online I get asked for my buttercream recipe. Most people think that the recipe is the key to perfect buttercream but when it comes to American Buttercream this isn't really the case. American Buttercream is really simple and most recipes really do not differ a huge amount. The secret to perfect American buttercream is in the method. Think Michael Jackson and beat it, beat it...beat it!! Follow my method exactly and you will have the silkiest, smoothest buttercream around.
Vanilla Cupcakes
175g plain flour
25g cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp salt
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
190g golden caster sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla paste
125ml milk
Vanilla Bean Buttercream
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
60ml milk
To Make the Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 180C (170C FAN OVEN).
Line a 12-hole muffin pan with 12 muffin sized cupcake cases and set aside.
Sift together the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the golden caster sugar and continue to beat for 3-5 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. Do not forget to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically as you beat.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions. Once the eggs are completely combined, beat the mixture for a further 30 seconds.
Add the vanilla paste and beat until evenly distributed.
Add one-quarter of the flour mixture and beat at a low speed just until combined, now add one-third of the milk and beat just until combined. Continue alternating between the flour and milk beating just until combined after each addition and no longer. Do not forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically between additions.
Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 cupcake cases in your prepared muffin pan and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing.
Preheat the oven to 180C (170C FAN OVEN).
Line a 12-hole muffin pan with 12 muffin sized cupcake cases and set aside.
Sift together the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the golden caster sugar and continue to beat for 3-5 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. Do not forget to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically as you beat.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions. Once the eggs are completely combined, beat the mixture for a further 30 seconds.
Add the vanilla paste and beat until evenly distributed.
Add one-quarter of the flour mixture and beat at a low speed just until combined, now add one-third of the milk and beat just until combined. Continue alternating between the flour and milk beating just until combined after each addition and no longer. Do not forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically between additions.
Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 cupcake cases in your prepared muffin pan and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing.
To Make the Buttercream:
In a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter for 2-3 minutes until very soft, smooth and creamy. Add two-thirds of the icing sugar, the milk and the vanilla paste and beat for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for a further minute. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat the buttercream on a medium speed for a minimum of 5 minutes.
Use a large rubber spatula or scraper to push and spread the buttercream against the sides of your bowl to remove some of the larger air bubbles.
To Assemble:
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag, fitted with a piping tip of your choice. I have used a 1.5cm plain round piping tip. Pipe swirls of frosting onto the cupcakes and scatter with sprinkles.
Happy Cupcaking!