Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake


 
 
To make this super moist, light and fluffy cupcakes you will need :Butter, Sugar, Egg,Yogurt or Sour cream, Vanilla extract, Vegetable oil, Milk, All purpose flour, Baking soda, Baking powder and Salt.
 
Start by creaming 2 Tbsp butter until smooth.
 
Add 1/2 Cup Sugar and mix it on a medium speed until you get a crumb texture.
 
With the mixer still on medium speed, add 1 Egg and mix until very pale and creamy.

Then add 2 1/2 Tbsp Yogurt or Sour cream

1 tsp Vanilla extract 
 
and 2 Tbsp Vegetable oil and mix until combined.

In a seperate bowl add 3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp All purpose flour and 3/4 tsp Baking powder. 
 
To this add 1/4 tsp Baking soda and 1/4 tsp Salt.

and mix it .


With the mixer still on medium speed alternate additions of flour mixture and 1/3 cup Milk,

beating after each addition until incorporated.

The batter will be liquid. Don't worry!

Prepare your muffin tin with liners and fill about 2/3 full.
Bake for 14 minutes at 350 degree F and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it.If they are not done, test again in two minutes.

When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack or on your counter to cool.Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.


Now to make this fluffy buttercream frosting you will need:Butter, Powdered sugar, Milk or heavy cream, Vanilla extract and Salt
Whip 1 stick or 1/2 cup salted or unsalted butter until nice and smooth.Use room temperature butter.

To this add 1/8 tsp Salt, if using salted butter ignore this step.

next add 1/2 tsp the best quality Vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

To this add 1 Cup Powdered sugar, adding 2 Tbsp at a time and beating after each addition.

Make sure the butter is whipped nicely and fully smooth before adding the sugar.Or else the frosting will not be smooth.

Add 1/2 Tbsp of Cream or Milk and continue beating.Add an additional 1/2 Tbsp of  cream or milk until desired consistency is reached. If you want to pipe the frosting on cupcakes, the frosting should be nice and thick. Continue to beat another minute or so. 

If you like to color the icing, use the  desired color one drop at a time and mix it nicely.The frosting should now be smooth and fluffy.

Now the fun part ! Let's decorate the cupcakes.

Keep all the cooled cupcakes in a tray.
Place tip inside your piping bag.I used Open star (Wilton 1M) to make these wonderful swirls.You can also use Closed star (Wilton 2D)
Half fill the piping bag with icing.

Hold the piping bag straight up, start frosting from the inside and begin swirling towards the outside.
Continue squeezing with constant pressure.
Once you reach the edge stop pressure, and pull tip away.

And another technique is, start on the outside and swirl in towards the center.

Voila! A beautifully frosted cupcake

RECIPE
Vanilla Cupcakes :Adapted from www.cupcakeproject.com
Ingredients:
  • Butter - 2 Tbsp
  • Sugar - 1/2 Cup
  • Egg - 1
  • Yogurt or Sour cream - 2 1/2 Tbsp
  • Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
  • Vegetable oil - 2 Tbsp
  • All purpose flour - 3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp
  • Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
  • Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
  • Salt - 1/4 tsp
  • Milk - 1/3 Cup
Directions:
  • Cream room temperature butter in a bowl.
  • Add sugar and mix again.
  • Add egg, yogurt,vanilla extract and oil and mix until smooth
  • Combine dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture and add milk.
  • Mixture will be liquid.Dont worry.
  • Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full with the mixture and bake for 14 minutes or until done at 350 degree F
  • When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack.
  • Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Butter cream icing:Adapted from www.glorioustreats.com
Ingredients:
  • Butter - 1/2 Cup or 1 stick
  • Salt - 1/8 tsp
  • Vanilla extract -1/2 tsp
  • Powdered sugar - 1 cup
  • Milk or cream - 2 Tbsp
Directions:
  • Cream the room temperature butter until nice and smooth.
  • Add salt, vanilla extract and powdered sugar and mix until fluffy.
  • Add 1 Tbsp milk and whip again.If the icing is too thick and difficult to pipe, add another Tbsp of milk.If icing is too thin add powdered sugar.