Title: Cupcakes & Frosting!
Miss Dusk - August 27, 2010 12:35 AM (GMT)
Easy Yellow Cupcakes
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tesaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I usually put in a little more for taste)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176ish C) and prepare the muffin pans ith nonstick spray and flour or paper cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until thoroughly blended.
3. Whisk together the oil and milk and add to the dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed (or use your arm muscles. :P)
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again for 2 minutes on medium (or use your arms again...)
5. Pour the batter into the pans, filling at least halfway. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cakes test done.
6. Remove the pans and turn out the cupcakes onto a wire rack to cool.
Yields 24 cupcakes
Classic Buttercream Frosting
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
liquid food coloring (optional)
2 tablespoons milk or fruit juice (optional)
1. Place the softened butter in a large bowl.
2. Gradually add the sugar by sifting a small amount over the butter and stirring to incorporate. Continue until all the sugar is blended in.
3. Beat hard with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until the icing is pale and fluffy.
4. A small amount of food coloring may be added toward the end of the beating. Bear in mind that the butter gives this icing a pale yellow tint that will affect the resulting color.
5. Beat in milk or juice, if desired.
Yields enough for 16-24 cupcakes.
The longer you beat the icing, the lighter it will be. The more sugar you add the thicker it will be, you can add up to double the amount of sugar to the butter.
It's weather sensitive, so if it's raining it make break up. If that happens, remix and recombine it. If in an airtight container buttercream and stay in the fridge for days and up to 2 months in the freezer.
There was something off about the cupcake recipe itself. I think it needed a little less flour and little more vanilla extract. I'll have to try again and see. Satai Delenn (Snapegirl!) - August 27, 2010 03:12 AM (GMT)
They sound really good, but I have a question. Can I use butter instead of the oil? (I'm not much on oil for things other than frying a steak, scrambling eggs, stir fry, etc.).
Also, is it OK to use salted butter for the buttercream? I stopped using unsalted butter about two years ago because I disliked the way it tasted.
I don't bake much, so I'm unfamiliar about swapping ingredients and whether or not it's OK to do so.
eriksmistress - August 28, 2010 06:42 AM (GMT)
Mmm-mm-MMM. It is so sweet loooking! The icing looks like the giant swirling cloud from Aladin!
Only I can't tell if it's orange or pink. :P
Asthenia182 - August 28, 2010 08:02 AM (GMT)
Delenn, I, too, only use oil for few things. Mostly when I'm frying potatoes. I try to use butter for everything else.
That said, yes, you can substitute butter for the oil, though I'm unsure of the conversion for the recipe. Best to look that up, I think.
As for the question of salted vs. unsalted... for the icing, I would use unsalted, because the icing is meant to be sweet, and the butter is really just a binding agent for the sugar and milk so it'll stay thick on the cupcakes.
I, too, made a cake and icing, actually the same day, I believe. Funny how we're on the same wavelength, right, Nicole? Lol. :D My cake, however, was much too dense for my liking. I like my cakes to be lighter, so I'll probably end up tweaking it a bit.
Kind of in the mood for pie, actually. Maybe I'll make an apple pie tomorrow. Hmm...
Satai Delenn (Snapegirl!) - August 28, 2010 10:00 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Asthenia182 @ Aug 28 2010, 03:02 AM) |
Delenn, I, too, only use oil for few things. Mostly when I'm frying potatoes. I try to use butter for everything else.
That said, yes, you can substitute butter for the oil, though I'm unsure of the conversion for the recipe. Best to look that up, I think.
As for the question of salted vs. unsalted... for the icing, I would use unsalted, because the icing is meant to be sweet, and the butter is really just a binding agent for the sugar and milk so it'll stay thick on the cupcakes.
I, too, made a cake and icing, actually the same day, I believe. Funny how we're on the same wavelength, right, Nicole? Lol. :D My cake, however, was much too dense for my liking. I like my cakes to be lighter, so I'll probably end up tweaking it a bit.
Kind of in the mood for pie, actually. Maybe I'll make an apple pie tomorrow. Hmm... |
OK, thanks Tara. I'm guessing that for the cupcakes themselves, the oil to butter ratio would be about the same (maybe). Otherwise, I guess I'll have VERY rich cupcakes, lol.
Miss Dusk - August 29, 2010 03:00 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Asthenia182 @ Aug 28 2010, 04:02 AM) |
I, too, made a cake and icing, actually the same day, I believe. Funny how we're on the same wavelength, right, Nicole? Lol. :D My cake, however, was much too dense for my liking. I like my cakes to be lighter, so I'll probably end up tweaking it a bit.
Kind of in the mood for pie, actually. Maybe I'll make an apple pie tomorrow. Hmm... |
Tara, you and I being on the same wavelength is so weird sometimes. But, this past realization was just REALLY weird. Can you imagine what it would be like if we were face-to-face like this? It'd be kind of awesome. :P We'd freak people out. :lol:
BTW, a couple weeks ago I thought of making a blueberry pie. Sadly, it never happened. I probably would have burned the crust anyway... :(
Beth, thanks! The color of the frosting is pink (in person). In the photo, the lighting makes it hard to tell.
Delenn, I agree with all of Tara's advice. :P Unsalted is definitely going to make your buttercream taste better. Also, in the cupcake recipe itself, I should have written that I usually omit ANY salt in my baked goods. Once I put salt in my pancakes because the recipe called for it... disgusting. All I could taste was the salt and I put in chocolate chips!
