Vanilla Cupcakes

    Whenever I feel like baking something (which, let’s face it, is pretty much all the time) and ask my mom what she’s in the mood for, the conversation almost always goes like this:
Me: “Hey, mom, what do you want me to bake?”
Mom: “You’re making me fat.”
Me: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you want?”
Mom: “I think I need to ban you from the kitchen.”
Me: “……”
Mom: “Cupcakes, please.”
    Remember this post a few weeks ago, with my go-to recipe for cupcakes? Well, now I have a new, even-better-than-those-cupcakes go-to recipe (I change my mind a lot, okay? Don’t judge me), and ever since the first time I made it, all my mom ever wants is cupcakes. Specifically, these cupcakes with vanilla frosting and nothing else. I can’t really blame her though, because these cupcakes really are delicious. Moist, delicious… mmm, I want another one (or two or ten). I’m pretty sure I would probably be snacking on one of these babies right now if we hadn’t finished the last of them this morning—that’s right, haven’t you heard that cupcakes are the new breakfast of champions? I mean… what? Anyway, if you’re in the market for a good cupcake recipe, you should give this one a try.



Yellow Cupcakes:
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tins with paper liners, or spray with cooking spray.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.
3. Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 12-15 minutes (my oven cooks kind of weird, so this time may not be exact. Just watch closely to make sure they aren’t overcooked). Let pan cool slightly before removing cupcakes to cool on a wire rack (or, if you’re like me, remove cupcakes immediately and suffer the very hot consequences). Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!

Yield: about 24 cupcakes