Cupcakes!

I've got to admit, when it comes to cupcakes, I'm at a loss.

There are so many adorable cupcakes out there, with cute decorations and zany frosting and insanely awesome flavors.  And.  They.  All.  Look.  Perfect.

My cupcakes don't.

Actually, come to think of it, my cupcakes don't... exist.

That's right, I don't make cupcakes much.  Unless I have a box of cake mix.  Cupcakes made from scratch?  Ha, that's a joke, right?

Well, not today.  I'm trying to make big changes, and besides rambling at the beginning of my blog posts... which I don't usually do... I made cupcakes from scratch.  Like, for the first time in a loooong time.

They're not the prettiest, they're not the wittiest, but they did the trick for getting me into making things look cute(ish) with frosting and solved the problem of "OMGIdon'thaveagiftforthatperson'sbirthdaywhatdoIdo??".

I used Bakerella's generic yellow cake recipe and a generic frosting recipe (which, come to think of it, is probably hers also - they just work so well!) and made these cupcakes.

Yellow Cupcakes with Vanilla Swirl Frosting

REQUIRES SOFTENED BUTTER
REQUIRES MILK AND EGGS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
REQUIRES COOLING TIME

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks softened butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup milk, room temperature

Frosting:

1 1/2 sticks softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk, if needed
Two colors food coloring

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cupcake pans with 24 cupcake wrappers.
2. In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In another large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.  Add vanilla and stir well.
4. Add flour mixture, third at a time, alternating with milk in two additions.  (Sequence: flour, milk, flour, milk, flour)
5. Drop batter evenly into cupcake pans.
6. Bake 20 minutes*, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
7. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

*Honestly, I have no idea how much time it took to bake, as I was baking a half-cake and a half-batch of cupcakes at the same time.  Use the toothpick trick and watch those babies like a hawk.

For the frosting:

1. Cream butter and vanilla until combined.
2. Add powdered sugar to mixture, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Add milk to make frosting creamier if needed.
4. Separate frosting into two bowls.  Add food coloring to each bowl and stir with separate forks until frosting reaches desired color.

Assembly:

1. Spread one color frosting over half of a cooled cupcake.
2. Spread the other color on the other half.
3. With another knife, frosting knife, or spatula, swirl the two frostings together.
4. Store in an airtight container.

Breaking it down...

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt...

 Cream butter...

...with sugar...

 Add eggs...

 ...and mix well.

Add vanilla, flour mixture, and milk.

Pour into cupcake pans and bake for however many minutes it actually takes.  While your cupcakes cool, beat butter with vanilla...

 Add powdered sugar...

 ...and beat well.

 Separate frosting and stir in food coloring.

Frost your cupcakes and take lots of pictures!  Like I didn't!

Hopefully, someday soon, I'll be actually good at making pretty cupcakes.  But for now, I'm just content that they taste good.
-JJ