Vanilla Cupcakes for Vanilla King

Yellow Butter Cake - made June 22, 2012, recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and made into cupcakes

One of my favorite shows on TV is Cupcake Wars on Food Network.  Every Sunday night, you can find me in front of my TV, stressing out with the cupcake bakers on how to pass the taste challenge (Round 1), the taste and presentation challenge (Round 2) and creating a display and baking 1000 cupcakes in 2 hours (Round 3) with 4 baking assistants and a bearded carpenter clad in plaid.  When I first started watching the show, it stressed me out so much I almost couldn't watch it.  It reminded me too much of culinary school and the daily stress of making desserts in time for the lunch deadline (you don't sit down and eat lunch until the desserts are done, plated, on display and your station is clean).  I've since gotten used to the show so now I can actually distance myself enough to enjoy the cupcakes they're making rather than cringing in empathic sympathy for what the contestants are going through.

What fascinates me about the show is all the flavor combinations they put together.  My idea of the perfect cupcake is a well-made, moist, plain (i.e. non-filled) cupcake topped with the thinnest layer of frosting and no decorations that I would otherwise only pluck off and never eat.  Cupcake Wars goes to the opposite end of the spectrum and the most exotic (or sometimes just plain weird) flavors are baked into the cupcakes, they're filled with "stuff", thickly topped with frosting and decorated in all sorts of ways.  Most of them are probably cupcakes I wouldn't eat but some of them sure look pretty.  And some do put together flavor combinations I would probably like.

The cupcake corer

Despite my aversion to fillings in cupcakes, I decided I'd try it out - namely because I found a cool new baking gadget to play with - the cupcake corer.  Granted, a small knife or the large-enough end of a decorating tip could accomplish the same thing: making a hole in the cupcake, extracting the bit of cupcake and leaving a hole or well in the center to be filled with filling.  But for $4.99, no tax and free shipping, I felt I could indulge in a new baking gadget.

I was meeting my cousin and her son, Vanilla King, for dinner and I needed something befitting his moniker - I gave it to him, after all, since he's the only kid I know who not only prefers vanilla but actually doesn't like chocolate.  Doesn't like chocolate.  Had to repeat that because my brain can't comprehend it. In any case, what better cupcake for Vanilla King than a vanilla cupcake filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with vanilla icing?  I used Martha Stewart's recipe for Yellow Butter Cake and made a half recipe into cupcakes.  Turns out I didn't have regular cupcake liners on hand so I used the mini panettone molds instead.  They made for a bigger, taller cupcake than I intended but oh well.

Filled with pastry cream

The cupcake corer actually worked but because of the size of my cupcakes, it couldn't make a very deep hole before the lip of the corer ran into the top of the cupcake.  I thought it would be okay without my enlarging the holes manually with a knife but it turns out I should have because there ended up not being very much filling in the cupcakes.  With regular cupcake liners, I think it would've been okay.  I used the CIA recipe for pastry cream because it's my favorite.  If you're only making 1 batch of cupcakes, a half recipe of the pastry cream would be more than enough.

The recipe for the cake was pretty good.  I still have an underbaking problem so they probably turned out a little heavier than Martha intended but the taste was nice and buttery.  Next time I would bake it a minute or two longer and use more filling.  Good thing there's no possibility of my appearing on Cupcake Wars any time soon.  Or ever.

Because Vanilla King is 7 years old, I had to add sprinkles to his cupcakes

Needs more filling

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups milk

1.       Preheat oven to 350°F.  Butter two 9” round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2.       In a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3.       In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Beat until combined after each addition.

4.       Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and smooth with an offset metal spatula.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centers come out clean, 30 to 35 minutes (20-25 minutes or less if you’re baking as cupcakes).  Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.  Invert cakes onto rack, peel off parchment and reinvert.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted (more or less, depending on the consistency you want your frosting)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk, adjust with confectioners’ sugar for desired consistency

1.       With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2.       Reduce speed to medium.  Add the confectioners’ sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium. 

3.       Add vanilla and milk, and beat until frosting is smooth.  If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container.  Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.