Cupcakes

I hadn't planned to share my recipe for the cupcakes I made for the Critter's birthday party, but Cassie asked, so here ya go.

So it is not a specialized cupcake really. It is a basic yellow cake recipe, with all the good stuff in it - sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla. The Critter has eaten all of these things before, well maybe not pure sugar, but she's had sweetened yogurt and some graham crackers, so she's had sugar in some form. And I used a very easy buttercream, again, just butter, sugar, vanilla and a touch of milk to thin. She's had all of these things before. Just not in this combo. My brother called them "old-fashioned tasting" which I took as a compliment.

Vanilla Cupcakes (adapted from Nick Malgeiri)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp (I leave it out overnight)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure its fresh!)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
3 whole eggs plus one extra egg yolk, lightly beaten (at room temp - I leave them out for at least 4 hours)
3/4 cup whole milk (also at room temp)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Penzeys double-strength, which is awesome!!)
1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat oven to 350* Line 18 cupcake cups with paper liners.

Cream butter and sugar in a stand-mixer for 5 minutes, until very light and fluffy.

Meanwhile, combine flour. baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and oil in a large, spouted measuring cup.

Once butter and sugar is creamed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture on low speed and mix until just combines. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add 1/2 of the liquid mixture on med-low speed until just mixed. (It might look scary and curdled at this point. That's ok, keep going!) Scrape down the sides again. Add the next 1/3 of the dry, scrape, rest of the liquid, scrape, and then end with the last 1/3 of the dry. Give the bowl a good scrape and hand-mix to completely combine.

Scoop batter into the lined cupcake cups, filling about 3/4 full (I use a 20 scoop).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through if your oven it uneven like mine. Check for doneness using a toothpick - it should come out clean with a few crumbs.

Remove to a cooling rack as soon as you can (they'll be hot!). Let cool completely before frosting.

I used this easy buttercream recipe - subbing whole milk for the cream. Gale Gand don't lie. The key is to have room temperature butter - this will make all the difference. And I added 4 drops of food coloring to make them pink. :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/quick-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-recipe/reviews/index.html

Happy baking!