Funfetti Cupcakes

Unfortunately, this is another recipe sans pictures. This is actually a rather important cupcake experience too, because it is my first paid job. I’m actually not really looking to make cupcakes for pay, but someone from my church asked if I would be willing to make a few cupcakes for a baby shower. Of course I said yes, because I can’t pass up a chance to make more cupcakes! I asked her what kind she wanted and she told me that the mom-to-be loves Funfetti cake and to frost them in bright red, yellow, & blue because the theme was super heroes. Now, it would’ve been easy enough to just buy the cake mix, but I needed to find something better so I looked on the trusty Pinterest and found this fun recipe.

Overall, I think the cupcakes turned out really well (I wouldn’t have sent them to the baby shower if I didn’t think they did). The only complaint I have is that the cake had more of a muffin taste and texture, I’m pretty sure that its because of the large amount of milk in the batter. I also would’ve used more sprinkles if I were to do it again. Personally, I want to try another recipe the next time I make Funfetti cupcakes, I think it calls for a cake that has a sweeter taste. Feel free to give this a try though and see what you think.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 3/4 C. Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 2/3 C. + 1 T. Whole milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 6 tbsp Butter, softened
• 2/3 C. Granulated sugar
• 1/3 C. Sour cream
• 2 T. Colorful Cake Sprinkles

For the Frosting:

• 1/2 C. Shortening
• 1 C. Butter, softened
• 1 t. Vanilla Extract
• 3-4 C. Powdered Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place 16 paper liners in wells of a muffin tin.
2. Whisk flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.
3. Combine milk and vanilla in another small bowl.
4. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites on high speed of electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
5. In another bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy.
6. Beat in sour cream until smooth.
7. On medium speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture in two additions, mixing until smooth.
8. Whisk in one-third of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining egg whites using a rubber spatula.
9. Add in the sprinkles and fold in until just distributed.
10. Using a large scoop, divide batter evenly among liners.
11. Bake 17-20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.
12. Remove pan from oven to a wire rack to cool.
13. When cupcakes have cooled, pipe vanilla buttercream on top of each one.
14. Sprinkle each frosted cupcake with cake sprinkles.
15. For the Frosting:
16. Place the shortening and softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a paddle attachment, beat together until smooth and well blended. Mix in the vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until all the sugar is incorporated(use only 3 cups if you want it too be a little less sweet). Scrape down the bowl once. Turn the speed up to medium/high and beat the frosting until smooth and light. Store in an airtight container, if not using immediately.

Super Bowl Cupcakes

Well, today is really just a bonus cupcake recipe. It isn’t anything special, I just wanted to try out this cute frosting color scheme that I saw on Pinterest. It was a post from McCormick that showed how many drops of their food coloring was needed to make frosting that matched each NFL team’s colors. I thought this was perfect for the Super Bowl and the little “party” we were having. The cupcakes are the same basic recipe I’ve been using but this time I kept it basic vanilla. The frosting isn’t anything special though because the McCormick color guide called for white canned frosting. My husband is pulling for the Seattle Seahawks to win so of course I made my frosting green & blue. My only regret is that I wish I would’ve thought to swirl the colors together; I think they would have turned out so much better if I had done that. It was still fun playing with the colors though.

The exciting part of this post is the fact that my new mixer came today! It’s beautiful! I have never had a stand mixer before and I am so in love with it! I cannot wait to make cupcakes next week so that I can use it for the first time. This mixer is going to make my baking experience that much better!

Basic Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• generous 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• scant 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 tbsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Put 12 paper liners in a shallow muffin pan.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, beat together until the batter is pale, light, and fluffy.
3. Gradually beat in the eggs. Add about 1 tablespoonful at a time and beat thoroughly after each addition.
4. Beat in the vanilla extract. Using a large metal strainer or a sifter, sift the flour into the bowl.
5. Using a metal spoon, gently fold the flour into the batter until thoroughly incorporated.
6. Add the milk and fold gently into the batter.
7. The cupcake batter should have a smooth consistency and drop easily from the spoon if tapped on the side of the bowl.
8. Carefully spoon the batter into the paper liners, being careful not to overfill them.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are risen, golden, and just firm to the touch.
10. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely.