Vanilla Cupcakes (video)
All-purpose flour 1 1/4 cup
Sugar 3/4 cup
Baking powder1 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter 1/2 cup
Buttrmilk 1/2 cup *
Egg 2 large
Vanilla extract 2 tsp
* home-made buttermilk
1/2 cup – 1 tsp of whole milk
add 1 tsp white vinegar/lemon juice the milk
let sit 5 minutes – yes, somewhat curdled.
Preheat oven to 350F
Line an aluminum cupcake/muffin tray with paper cups.
Sift the dry ingredients (other than the sugar), and give it a quick whisk.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar (mix until fluffy and all the sugar is absorbed into the butter).
Add the rest of the wet ingredients (except the buttermilk) and mix well.
You don’t want any clumps, but overmixing can create the formation of gluten, which is not what you want. Set your hand mixer to low.
Add half the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Add the buttermilk and mix.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Use an ice cream scooper, or something like a 1/3 cup measuring cup to fill your paper cups 1/2 to 2/3 full. Any higher and you risk the middles collapsing and/or not cooking properly.
Bake for 19-23 minutes, testing every minute starting at 19.
Testing = insert a wooden toothpick into the middle of a cupcake. The cupcakes are cooked if the toothpick comes out completely clean. If there’s any batter on the toothpick, keep baking.
Repeat the test every minute until the cupcakes are done. Make a note of how long this took for next time.
Remove the tray from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let them come to room temperature before decorating.