Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes

     I have never been a huge fan of cake. Sure, the occasional birthday cake from the grocery store was cool, but I have always, for the most part, disliked the taste of boxed cakes. My mother never made cakes from scratch, however, so boxed cakes were what I was left with for most of my life. Even as I started to bake more and more, I stuck mostly to cookies and other non-cake treats. I’d tried some homemade cake recipes in the past, but with little to no success—the texture and taste always left something to be desired—and so I would retreat back to cookies and other things that I felt I was better at baking.
     But the other day, I got a huuuge craving for cupcakes and just had to have one. I scoured the internet and finally found a recipe that seemed promising. As I put the cakes into the oven, I crossed my fingers and hoped they would finally turn out right (I even made a half batch in case they were too disappointing). Luckily, they were delicious. The crumb was perfect, the cakes themselves were moist, and my mother, sisters, and I devoured them. There was a downside, though: now my mom won’t stop asking me to make them again. I frosted them with a simple frosting (4c powdered sugar, 1/2 stick butter, 1 tsp vanilla, some food coloring), but I think next time I’ll go with a chocolate frosting. Yes, there will be a next time. It is so exciting to finally have a go-to cupcake recipe—almost as exciting as it is to finally become a cake-lover.



Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
(I can’t for the life of me find where I got this recipe from, sorry!)
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1c buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and either line muffin tins with paper liners or grease and flour them.
2. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
3. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and stir until almost combined. Add the buttermilk, stir until almost combined, then add the rest of the flour mixture. Stir until all ingredients are mixed in.
4. Divide batter evenly into cups, and bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Yields 12 cupcakes.