Mini vanilla cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes

This recipe was supposed to be cupcakes baked in sugar cones, care of Martha Stewart’s beautiful cupcake book.  Unfortunately, even though I followed the recipe to a T, they were an absolute mess.  The batter overflowed the cones and was all over the place.  No picture… sorry.  I just don’t think to photograph what I don’t want to remember!  I did manage to salvage the rest of the batter though, and made them in mini liners instead.  The kids didn’t know what I had originally planned, so they were happy to come home to find these on the table.

My kids have been in school for almost 2 weeks now and they’ve been so good about getting up early and having to hit the ground running in the mornings.  That’s saying a lot for my little one, because she loves to sleep late; and my 10-year-old might be an early-riser, but he doesn’t always get up on the right side of the bed.  I thought they deserved a treat, so that’s where I was headed with these.  They turned out cute, after all.  It’s the sprinkles that gave them what Claudia calls “pizazz,” and who wants a cupcake with no pizazz?

Recipe:  Vanilla Cupcakes

(from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a mini muffin tin with paper liners.  Sift or whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.   In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in vanilla.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.  Fill liners 3/4 way full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.

Frosting:

(from Elinor Klivan’s cupcakes!)

1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

3 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3-4 Tbsp. whole milk

sprinkles

In a large bowl, on low speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together with 3 Tbsp. of milk.  Add up to 1 Tbsp. more milk if needed to form a creamy, smooth frosting.  Spread on cupcakes or spoon into decorating bag with star tip to pipe onto cupcakes.  Decorate with sprinkles.