Vanilla Cupcakes

Why not start with the basics? The cupcakes are delicious, the frosting is out of this world, and the filling is so very versatile.

Vanilla Cupcakes
yield: about 16 cupcakes

    2 cups all-purpose flour
  3/4 tsp baking powder
  1/2 tsp baking soda
  1/2 tsp salt

    1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar

    3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
    1 tbsp vanilla extract

  2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2, 12-cup cupcake tins with 16 paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Pour the batter evenly into the cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Remove the center of the cupcakes and pipe in the following pastry cream.

Vanilla Pastry Cream

    1 cup half & half
    2 tsp vanilla

  1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
    3 large egg yolks

    2 tbsp butter

In a medium saucepan, bring the half & half, vanilla, and 3 tbsp of sugar to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining sugar, cornstarch, a pinch of salt, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by gradually whisking in about 1/2 cup of the hot half & half mixture. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium, and whisk constantly for about 30 seconds to a minute. The mixture will thicken very quickly.

Remove the pastry cream from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pour through a sieve and into a bowl, letting it cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Use as a filling in the vanilla cupcakes by removing the center of a cupcake and piping in the pastry cream. Frost with the frosting recipe that follows.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  1 cup salted butter, softened
  4 cups confectioner's sugar
  1 tbsp vanilla
4-5 tbsp heavy cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Next, beat in the confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time, beating completely until all four cups are incorporated. Mix in the vanilla followed by the cream. Add in the cream one tablespoonful at a time until it reaches the consitency you're looking for. Personally, I mixed in four tablespoons.

Notes

• My Vanilla Pastry Cream has, to date, filled a shortbread crust topped with strawberries and kiwis, been altered slightly into both a coconut pastry cream and a chocolate pastry cream, filled cream puffs (a combination pate choux and puff pastry concoction), etc... Like I said, it's a very versatile, and nearly foolproof, recipe.
• Use salted butter in the buttercream frosting. The salt in the butter brings out the sweetness of the frosting and actually contrasts with that very sweetness. I have yet to find a frosting recipe that combines salt with unsalted butter to such a similar effect, but salted butter seems to work perfectly every time. I have been converted to a user of salted butter in many of my frostings; the results are incredibly tasty and worth a try!