Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
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| Mmmmmmmmmm |
But I have no regrets! They're cute, they're easy, and they're always a crowd pleaser. You really can't go wrong with vanilla, especially this one. It's my old standard. The recipe comes from an awesome blog called the Cupcake Project. She makes some really insane flavors, like these absinthe cupcakes and these salt and vinegar pork rind cupcakes with a beer glaze.
While she's awesome at the crazy stuff, her recipe for the ULTIMATE vanilla cupcake is actually perfect. You know how cake made from a boxed sometimes just tastes better than from scratch? (I'm not saying boxed mixes are better, that's absolute heresy. Homemade over boxed every time.) It just sometimes hits the spot when you're feeling tired and aren't interested in putting in the effort. Well these cupcakes taste like a perfect combination of boxed mix comfort and homemade love. I swear by the recipe, but I just made a few changes to the order of operations, which I will note later.
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| She's only smiling because she can't see my face |
This is actually the most annoying thing ever.
Then I asked if her boyfriend Ben, whose birthday was last week, had any requests. She said, "Ben says his favorite is funfetti boxed cake and icing from the store." Well, that was good enough. Rather than take the creative liberties Maddie allowed me, I just listened to Ben and made it homemade. But for Maddie, I made an extra special cupcake! Since it's her 21st, I spiked the frosting for her cupcake.
Thanks to my mother's fruitful career in marketing for a liqueur company, we have exorbitant amounts of strange alcohol sitting around the house. So for my Madelina, I chose a strawberry cream-based tequila thing called Tequila Rose and threw that in the buttercream. Because of the name and it's the only impressive frosting decoration I'm good at, I piped a buttercream rose on top of her cupcake.
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| Isn't it cute?! |
Vanilla Funfetti Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cake
1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1¾ cups cake flour, I repeat CAKE FLOUR (not all-purpose or self-rising)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoons salt
⅓ cup sour cream
⅔ cup milk
(a handful or so of rainbow sprinkles if you're in the mood for funfetti)
Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk (probably less)
Directions
First, cream the butter and sugar until FLUFFY in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Like 5 or so minutes, idk. While this is going on, measure out the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl (that'd be the flour, baking powder/soda and salt) and whisk it up. Then mix in the vegetable oil until just combined, followed by the eggs-one at a time- and the vanilla. Go ahead and give that a stir to make sure there's no butter/sugar sitting at the bottom. With the mixer on low speed add one third of the dry ingredients, followed by all the milk, another third of the dry, all the sour cream, and the rest of the dry. VOILÀ BATTER. (Stir in the sprinkles by hand)
This is usually when I preheat my oven to 350 because I have poor planning skills (I emphasize that so maybe if you're better at planning than me, you'll see it and do it first). One batch makes 16-18 cupcakes. They only bake for 14-15 minutes, which I was skeptical of at first, but that's really all it takes. Still be sure to check with the bounciness test or a toothpick anyway! Let them sit in the pan a few minutes before you pull them out to cool.
(Note: If you look at the actual recipe, these are not the directions she gives. She says to mix the butter with the dry ingredients and sugar, then just dump in all the wet ingredients. This always gave me weird lumpy runny batter. I like starting with my sugar and fat, followed by vanilla and eggs, and finally alternating dry and dairy until batter happens. This way, the batter is thick enough to scoop and there are no dreaded butter lumps! She also makes vanilla sugar with a vanilla bean but I'm too cheap for that. Seriously, 2 beans cost like $12.)
While those are cooling, make your frosting. I don't know that I've ever used a recipe for this, it's just a really easy ratio that works perfectly every time- 1:1:4:4. That's 1 stick of butter, 1 tsp of vanilla, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and 4 tbsp of milk, generally. The milk can change depending on how stiff you need the buttercream to be or if you're adding other flavors or colors. But for the sake of just vanilla buttercream, this is perfect. First cream the butter, then mix in the vanilla. I usually add two cups of powdered sugar, then a little milk.
Always err on the side of a stiffer frosting. I'd rather soften hard frosting by adding little bits of milk than stiffen soupy frosting by adding powdered sugar and whipping it. That can result in frosting that's way too sweet. So add all your sugar and then see if you need more milk. If you do, add it like a half tablespoon at a time. Then CRANK IT UP to high speed and whip it for a few minutes so it's perfectly white and fluffy. Then frost and decorate as you desire.
One batch frosts 10-12 cupcakes depending on how much you use. Always add sprinkles or other toppings like immediately. Once the buttercream dries it'll be impossible to get toppings to stick. Also, I would check which tip I use for reference but my mom just started the dishwasher... Sorry.
Reviews
I brought most of these into my old high school today and gave them to old teachers and friends. I think people liked them? I don't know, I was gone before they were eaten. My mom liked the frosting, and I know that because she ate a bowl full of what was left. Bless that woman.
Update: My parents have finally eaten the cupcakes. Dad says "freakin' awesome." Mom says "delicious!" Also, my wonderful friend Andrew called them "soo yummmy." I'd say success.
1¾ cups cake flour, I repeat CAKE FLOUR (not all-purpose or self-rising)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoons salt
⅓ cup sour cream
⅔ cup milk
(a handful or so of rainbow sprinkles if you're in the mood for funfetti)
Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk (probably less)
Directions
First, cream the butter and sugar until FLUFFY in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Like 5 or so minutes, idk. While this is going on, measure out the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl (that'd be the flour, baking powder/soda and salt) and whisk it up. Then mix in the vegetable oil until just combined, followed by the eggs-one at a time- and the vanilla. Go ahead and give that a stir to make sure there's no butter/sugar sitting at the bottom. With the mixer on low speed add one third of the dry ingredients, followed by all the milk, another third of the dry, all the sour cream, and the rest of the dry. VOILÀ BATTER. (Stir in the sprinkles by hand)
This is usually when I preheat my oven to 350 because I have poor planning skills (I emphasize that so maybe if you're better at planning than me, you'll see it and do it first). One batch makes 16-18 cupcakes. They only bake for 14-15 minutes, which I was skeptical of at first, but that's really all it takes. Still be sure to check with the bounciness test or a toothpick anyway! Let them sit in the pan a few minutes before you pull them out to cool.
(Note: If you look at the actual recipe, these are not the directions she gives. She says to mix the butter with the dry ingredients and sugar, then just dump in all the wet ingredients. This always gave me weird lumpy runny batter. I like starting with my sugar and fat, followed by vanilla and eggs, and finally alternating dry and dairy until batter happens. This way, the batter is thick enough to scoop and there are no dreaded butter lumps! She also makes vanilla sugar with a vanilla bean but I'm too cheap for that. Seriously, 2 beans cost like $12.)
While those are cooling, make your frosting. I don't know that I've ever used a recipe for this, it's just a really easy ratio that works perfectly every time- 1:1:4:4. That's 1 stick of butter, 1 tsp of vanilla, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and 4 tbsp of milk, generally. The milk can change depending on how stiff you need the buttercream to be or if you're adding other flavors or colors. But for the sake of just vanilla buttercream, this is perfect. First cream the butter, then mix in the vanilla. I usually add two cups of powdered sugar, then a little milk.
Always err on the side of a stiffer frosting. I'd rather soften hard frosting by adding little bits of milk than stiffen soupy frosting by adding powdered sugar and whipping it. That can result in frosting that's way too sweet. So add all your sugar and then see if you need more milk. If you do, add it like a half tablespoon at a time. Then CRANK IT UP to high speed and whip it for a few minutes so it's perfectly white and fluffy. Then frost and decorate as you desire.
One batch frosts 10-12 cupcakes depending on how much you use. Always add sprinkles or other toppings like immediately. Once the buttercream dries it'll be impossible to get toppings to stick. Also, I would check which tip I use for reference but my mom just started the dishwasher... Sorry.
I brought most of these into my old high school today and gave them to old teachers and friends. I think people liked them? I don't know, I was gone before they were eaten. My mom liked the frosting, and I know that because she ate a bowl full of what was left. Bless that woman.
Update: My parents have finally eaten the cupcakes. Dad says "freakin' awesome." Mom says "delicious!" Also, my wonderful friend Andrew called them "soo yummmy." I'd say success.
These cupcakes were almost as deliciously sweet as the frosting, which you know I ate right out of the bowl. Can you say "sugar coma"?
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