Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

I have to preface this post by noting that I don’t really care for vanilla cupcakes. They’re just ok, in my book, kind of boring. If I had to choose a cupcake, it would almost always be chocolate. That being said, I am pretty in love with this little guy. Vanilla-y, moist, and seriously, the creamiest batter you’ll ever whip up. It’s really the perfect base for any frosting you have in mind. One caveat – I think these are definitely best if eaten the day they’re made. For some reason, they don’t STAY moist.

I made these for a baby shower, thus the re-appearance of the blue frosting. I used white pearls for the shower cakes and turbinado sugar for the extras. Cute!

A few tips for this one – don’t overbake. Don’t overfill the cupcake papers, you don’t want the cakes to burn on the edge of the pan. Use a good quality vanilla bean (or two). I would suggest ordering them online rather than buying the small packets at the grocery store – you’ll get a better quality vanilla flavor and you’ll save some money by ordering in bulk. Finally, after you add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, only beat enough to combine – once you add the flour over-beating will make the cake dense and tough.

Hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1¼ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare two cupcake tins with liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside. Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the bowl of the mixer with the butter and discard the pod (or reserve for another use.) Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and creamy in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.

Add the sugar to the butter mixture, ¼ cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full (you will likely have batter left over after filling 24 wells.) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Replace paper liners and bake remaining batter if desired. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Enjoy!
Recipe courtesy of Annie’s Eats

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