These may be vanilla flavored, but there is NOTHING boring about these cupcakes! This recipe is special to me…these are my most favorite vanilla cupcakes I have ever tasted, and they are decadent! Consider this recipe my Christmas present to you. : )
Say goodbye to the boring boxed cake mix; once you taste these easy vanilla cupcakes you will never be able to make them another way again! The key ingredient? Undeniably (other than a LOT of butter…), it has to be the vanilla beans. Vanilla beans are pricey, but for good reason: the fresh vanilla beans amplify the flavor of the batter like vanilla extract never could. Plus, the tiny black specks of vanilla in each bite are so pretty!
In the past, I have made some cupcakes that turned out dense. Not so with this recipe! The crumb of the cupcakes is light and tender. Each one is almost delicate and it almost melts in your mouth as you take a bite. They are delicate in the way that cupcakes should be. In a word, they are perfect.
Bonus? They truly are very easy to make. I never even had to bust out my Kitchenaid mixer for the batter. They come together very quickly; the longest part is waiting for them to cool before you can frost them. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the frosting. Remember the vanilla bean from the batter? It makes a secondary appearance in the buttercream frosting, again adding to the appearance and adding extra vanilla flavor. Y’all, there is a lot of butter and sugar in this frosting. Don’t make these every day. (Although you might be tempted to…they are that good!).
I used to be a “chocolate only” person when it came to cakes. These vanilla cupcakes, however, have completely changed that. They are so good and so versatile–the white canvas makes it easy to adapt to whatever holiday you’re celebrating.
Example: 4th of July? Red, white, and blue sprinkles. Valentine’s Day? Red and pink sprinkles. Your friend’s birthday whose favorite color is purple? Purple cupcake liners and purple sprinkles. Christmas? Add green and red sprinkles like this:
See what I mean? 🙂 They are perfect all year round, for any occasion. Now go make them!
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting!
Ingredients for the cupcakes:
- 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted in the microwave
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1/2 split vanilla bean
- Line a cupcake tin with 12 liners and preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using a handheld mixer, mix the melted butter and sugar together until well combined. Add the egg whites, greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix again.
- Split the vanilla bean in half lenthwise. Scrape half the seeds and add to the batter. Stir to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until batter is smooth.
- Divide cupcake batter evenly among the 12 tins. Bake for 18-25 minutes, depending on your oven. My oven runs VERY hot, so mine are usually done around 17 minutes!
- Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
Ingredients for the vanilla bean buttercream frosting:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1/2 split vanilla bean
- 1/4 tsp salt, to taste
- Add the butter to the bottom of the stand mixer and beat for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer running, add the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla extra, salt, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix until light and fluffy, then frost cooled cupcakes.
Recipe adapted from: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/04/20/very-vanilla-cupcakes/
Audrey's Apron 