Vanilla Cupcakes with Cocoa Buttercream

I made these cuppycakes the same night that I made the already-posted Red Velvet Cuppycakes. What happened was that I was going on a trip with two friends and asked each one for a request.



Magnolia's Famous Vanilla Cupcakes (with a little help from me)

This has become my default vanilla cupcake recipe. I substitute heavy cream for the milk that the original recipe calls for. This makes the cupcakes nice and moist and a little richer. This time, I only made half a recipe.

1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 if using nonstick pans). Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk cream and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.


Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

I stole this recipe from here. If you are like me and want tons of frosting per cupcake, you should double the recipe below.

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk (plus a few tablespoons to adjust consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat butter and cocoa until smooth, then add sugar 1 cup at a time, beating with each addition. Add milk and vanilla and beat for about 3 minutes.



Here are the cupcakes in one of my cupcake containers.


More cuppycakes!

Chocolate Malted Cuppycakes and Vanilla Cuppycakes with Butterscotch Frosting

(aka my first semi-professional cupcake gig)

I baked these for my Dad's 60th birthday party, which was last night. I was really happy with how they came out. As always, Mike piped on the frosting for me. I'm still too scared to use the piping bag.


Chocolate Malted Cuppycakes (topped with Whoppers candies)


Vanilla Cuppycakes with Butterscotch Frosting (topped with Butterfinger minis)

Chocolate Malted Cupcakes (originally from Martha Stewart's cupcake cookbook)
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1-1/4 cup Carnation malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs (room temp)
1 cup sour cream (room temp)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 degrees if using a dark or nonstick pan). Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda & salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until powder is dissolved.

2. With mixer on Medium High, beat flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filled halfway (NOTE: I actually filled them about 2/3 full). Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until until cake tester comes out clean or baked about 20 minutes.


Chocolate Malted Frosting (I stole the idea from a nice girl on LJ - see my previous blog post)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
6 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
3 oz Lindt 85% Cacao bar, melted
6 tbsp Carnation malted milk powder (I think it actually needs more than this)

NOTE: I updated this frosting recipe to use 6 tablespoons of malt instead of the 4 I used last time. It was much yummier this way.


Magnolia's Famous Vanilla Cupcakes (with a little help from me)
I have used this vanilla cupcake recipe before, and my only complete was that the cupcakes were a little too dry. This time around, I fixed that problem by substituting heavy cream for milk. The more I bake, the more evil and fattening my baked goods seem to become. But they are also becoming yummier! :)

1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk cream and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.


Butterscotch Frosting (adapted from here)
2 sticks of butter, softened
3/4 cup butterscotch chips, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5-1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons cream
1/4 tsp salt

Melt butterscotch chips in the microwave along on low heat along with 2 tablespoons of cream. Mike and I did this by heating it for a few seconds, stirring a bit, and then heating some more. We originally tried melting it in a double boiler (which is how I melted the chocolate for the chocolate malted frosting), but it seemed to be melting too slowly and the first time we made this frosting we ended up with weird butterscotch chunks. Also, the frosting was a bit too sweet (so said my taste testers), which wasn't too surprising since (I failed to notice this initially) the original recipe did not include any salt. I do not believe in buttercream that does not include salt. Oh well.

In a bowl, beat butter, melted butterscotch chips, vanilla extract and powdered sugar with an electric mixer. It will be dry. Add cream 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time and combine. Continue adding milk and beating until you get your desired frosting consistency.

4th of July Kool-Aid Cuppycakes

I stole this idea from this recipe on "Cupcake Rehab" but tweaked the frosting a bit. I am horrified by the idea of using 4-5 cups of sugar with one stick of butter to make buttercream - that seems WAY too sweet (nothing personal against the original baker - it's just a very strong personal preference). So I doubled the amount of butter and added just a little more sugar. Sorry, but here in the Evans household we do not DO low-fat. ;-D

I was really pleased with the way the frosting came out. I used a larger packet of the blue Kool-Aid than I did with the reddish stuff because it was the only size I could find and I was too lazy to try to weigh out an equal amount. I guess I could try using a larger packet of the red stuff next time to see how it affects the flavor and color.

The taste of the vanilla cupcakes was really yummy, but I feel like they could have been more moist. These cupcakes would be good candidates for using my silicone baking cups next time (I used paper this time around). I also might take them out a little sooner next time (I baked them for 18 minutes).

* Note: I have since found an idea on another blog (Cast Sugar) for making this cake recipe come out more moist. The solution is to use yogurt or sour cream instead of milk. Will have to try that next time.


MAGNOLIA’S FAMOUS VANILLA CUPCAKES

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.


CHERRY KOOL-AID FROSTING

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
6 ½ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
.13 oz. packet KOOL-AID Black Cherry Flavor Soft Drink Mix
1/8 - 1/4 tsp salt
5-10 drops red food coloring (to make it less pinkish and closer to "red")

Beat half of the sugar and all of the other ingredients on low until just combined. Slowly add the rest of the sugar and beat on low until combined. Beat on medium until fluffy and color is uniformly blended.


ICE BLUE RASPBERRY LEMONADE KOOL-AID FROSTING

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
6 ½ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
.22 oz. packet KOOL-AID Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade Flavor Soft Drink Mix
1/8 - 1/4 tsp salt
5-10 drops "neon" blue food coloring

Beat half of the sugar and all of the other ingredients on low until just combined. Slowly add the rest of the sugar and beat on low until combined. Beat on medium until fluffy and color is uniformly blended.


Here are a couple more pics:

Dark Chocolate Cuppycakes with Vanilla Buttercream

I had people coming over for a scrapbooking group on Saturday, so I decided to try this recipe. I frosted them with vanilla buttercream that I made based on the recipe here.






These came out pretty good... as the Cast Sugar blog mentions, they are sort of like brownies in cupcake form.

Cupcake recipe thoughts:
- I used 85% cacao Lindt chocolate because I had no time to go anywhere besides my local grocery, but will probably try the Trader Joe's Valrhona chocolate recommended in the recipe if I make these again. They came out really good, so I probably will.
- The chocolate mixture in this recipe requires a little bit of fussing, so don't try this one if you have never ever baked anything before. Pick a simpler one first. :)
- I used cupcake pans with silicone baking cups and did not use any parchment paper as the recipe suggested. My cuppycakes seemed to come out fine.
- I might want to tweak this recipe a little bit next time to see if I can get the cupcakes a little more moist... maybe 2 sticks of butter instead of one and a half?

Frosting recipe thoughts:
- The frosting recipe calls for 2 tsp of vanilla extract, but I ended up using 2 and a quarter tsp because it was too sweet and not vanilla-y enough for my taste. I would have happily gone up to 2.5 tsp or more, but I didn't want to keep mixing the stuff and make it all funky. I want to use ground vanilla beans in the frosting next time.
- I used about 6 cups of confectioner's sugar in the frosting. The recipe calls for 6-8. I am going for 8 next time in order to make it thicker, but I think it needs REAL vanilla in order to do this and not be overly sweet, at least on these rich, chocolatey cuppycakes.

General baking thoughts:
- At first, I felt like the vanilla buttercream was too sweet for these cupcakes, but in the end it kinda grew on me.
- I think these cuppycakes would also be good with the really yummy cocoa cream cheese frosting that I've made in the past. May have to try that sometime.
- I have switched washing methods for my silicone baking cups due to feedback from that she could taste soap residue on my pink lemonade cuppycakes. I thought maybe she was just REALLY sensitive to soap taste (because I ate another one of the cupcakes after that and failed to detect the soap taste). Then later, I got a cupcake that tasted soapy to me as well. Apparently, a couple of the baking cups did not get adequately de-soaped. Ew! I did not notice any soapiness with these chocolate ones after switching washing methods... but I think you might only really notice with something like the pink lemonade ones that have a more delicate flavor. Hopefully the issue is resolved now. *blush*

For posterity, in case the blogs I linked to ever happen to go away, here are the recipes...

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:
3 to 4 oz. Valrhona 85% cacao (or any bittersweet chocolate)

12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) butter

1 1/8 c. sugar

4 eggs

5/8 c. flour

1/8 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

3/4 tsp. baking powder

Pinch salt

Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and laying out cupcake cups. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Chop chocolate and transfer into the bowl of a standing mixer. Add butter to the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate melts and butter is combined.
Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes. Beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing for 10 seconds between each.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the mixture, return to the electric mixer, and mix until blended.

Scoop batter into cupcake cups and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
6-8 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk

1. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment
2. Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy
3. Add half of the sugar, the vanilla and the milk. Beat until combined
4. Gradually add remaining sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

EDITED TO ADD:

We had a few extra cupcakes with no frosting because we ran out. So I tried another recipe for vanilla buttercream this evening on the remaining cuppycakes.


Vanilla Buttercream Frosting #2:

3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. milk
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

This is just a variation on the buttercream recipe I liked so much with the pink lemonade cupcakes. It turned out much better than the first vanilla buttercream, in my opinion. I want to try using heavy whipping cream next time instead of milk. :)