Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

There is no way to celebrate than with Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting!! This recipe, inspired by our favorite bakery in NYC, is our hands-down favorite.

With all that is going on around us, it is easy to lose track of things. We have been so busy adjusting to our new way of life created by COVID-19, that somehow a very important date passed us by: the birthday of Superman Cooks! 

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 ¾ C cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 ¼ C unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 C sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1" cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 C whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 to 8 C confectioners' sugar
• ½ C milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Superman Cooks, our passion project and creative outlet, just turned six! Sometimes it feels like just yesterday that we wrote our very first blog post, but most of the time we both cannot imagine life without this "baby" of ours. We like to look back and laugh at how little we knew six years ago, how much our style and our brand has grown. Today however, we thought it only proper to celebrate with some Vanilla Cupcakes!

How to make Vanilla Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
3. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
4. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about ⅔ full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean (17 to 20 minutes).
5. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles. Serve at room temperature.

How to make Buttercream Frosting:

1. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups of sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.

Anyone familiar with us knows that baking is not our forte. We've been trying more and more sweet things (like Easy Sour Cream Lemon Cake), but we are far from experts. So for this special celebration we sought out the recipe for our undisputed favorite cupcake in town: Billy's. Billy's Bakery, down the street in Chelsea, is our go-to destination for celebrations of all kinds. Luckily I had a little time on my hands, so I was able to find the famous recipe and bake these dreamy cupcakes at home. I was genuinely pleased with myself at how well they came out.

These vanilla cupcakes are not overly sweet. They are moist and fluffy, and only made better with heavenly buttercream frosting. It was so rewarding to make these myself and to share them with our family. Despite our recent challenges, we are healthy and we are TOGETHER.  Now that is something to celebrate.

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