Very Vanilla Cupcakes
Very Vanilla Cupcakes (Classic Yellow Cupcakes) Makes 22-24 standard cupcakes
Dan: Dan
Serves: 24 Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 9 ounces cake flour
- 9 ounces granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking POWDER
- ½ teaspoon baking SODA
- ¾ teaspoons salt
- 8 ounces buttermilk (at room temp)
- 3 large eggs (at room temp)
- 1.5 ounces vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or bourbon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- Preheat conventional oven to 375 degrees. Line standard cupcake trays with liners.
- Weigh the dry ingredients into your mixer bowl. Set aside.
- Weigh the buttermilk and oil into a large measuring cup. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk the mixture to break up the egg, set aside.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add chunks of softened butter to the dry ingredients.
- Allow the mixer to run on low until the mixture looks crumbly/sandy and a handful of the mixture holds together when clumped in your hands. No visible chunks of butter should remain.
- With the mixer still on low, slowly add ⅓ of the wet mixture to the dry.
- Raise the mixer to medium high (Kitchenaid speed 6) and allow it to beat for 2 minutes.
- Now scrape the bowl and beater and beat another 20 seconds. Add half the reaming egg mixture and mix on low.
- Scrape bowl and add remainder of mixture, mixing just until combined. Scrape bowl and fold in any remaining egg mixture.
- Portion batter into lined trays. Bake for 5 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake another 15-18 minutes, until tops are lightly browned and a toothpick interested into several cupcakes comes out with MOIST CRUMBS.
- Remove from oven, cool about 2 minutes then remove the cupcakes from the pan to a cooling rack.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Artisan Cake Company.
-This recipe is formulated by weight. You must use a scale that provides accurate measures, preferably digitally. Baking by weight is the only way to ensure correctly balanced recipes that provide even results. You will notice that even the buttermilk and oil are by weight; place a measuring cup/bowl on your scale, zero it out and then pour in the liquids to the correct weight.
-Use only true cake flour. Do not attempt to make substitute cake flour.
-Use only true buttermilk. Do not attempt a substitute. Store bought buttermilk contains cultures, much like yogurt, which contribute to the moisture of the finished cupcakes.
-Butter should be softened but not greasy.
-This cake is mixed using the reverse-creaming, or two stage method. The dry ingredients are placed in the mixer bowl and the butter is slowly added with the mixer running. This allows the fat to coat the flour particles so that when liquids are added the formation of gluten is mostly inhibited.
- We start our cupcakes 25 degrees hotter then the average baking temperature. This gives the cupcakes an initial 'lift' & counters the initial heat loss when you open your oven.
-This recipe is formulated by weight. You must use a scale that provides accurate measures, preferably digitally. Baking by weight is the only way to ensure correctly balanced recipes that provide even results. You will notice that even the buttermilk and oil are by weight; place a measuring cup/bowl on your scale, zero it out and then pour in the liquids to the correct weight.
-Use only true cake flour. Do not attempt to make substitute cake flour.
-Use only true buttermilk. Do not attempt a substitute. Store bought buttermilk contains cultures, much like yogurt, which contribute to the moisture of the finished cupcakes.
-Butter should be softened but not greasy.
-This cake is mixed using the reverse-creaming, or two stage method. The dry ingredients are placed in the mixer bowl and the butter is slowly added with the mixer running. This allows the fat to coat the flour particles so that when liquids are added the formation of gluten is mostly inhibited.
- We start our cupcakes 25 degrees hotter then the average baking temperature. This gives the cupcakes an initial 'lift' & counters the initial heat loss when you open your oven.
Very Vanilla Cupcakes
Hi
What would you suggest i use instead of cake flour as it’s hard to find here in the UK. You say not to use homemade cake flour. Can i use self raising and reduce the baking powder? Also can i sub the buttermilk for yoghurt? Again difficult to find here!
Thank you!
Hi Aneesa!
All great questions. I would try pastry flour if you have that available, or you could try making your own cake flour. It’s not that I feel that home made cake flour is bad, I just have found it to have different results than cake flour. If you don’t have buttermilk I would suggest using whole milk and eliminating the baking soda in the recipe. Keep in mind that with these changes you will be creating a new recipe, which is great! Experimentation with recipes is one of my favorite parts of baking. If you tweak the recipe and you like the results then you have created YOUR OWN recipe. Pretty cool!
If you try any changes I’d love to hear your results.
Happy Baking!
Dan
Hi Dan! Where is the recipe for the smash cake you made?! I found the icing but not the cake!
HI Kim! I use this recipe quite often for cake http://www.bakingwithdan.com/veryvanillacupcakes/
The recipe makes about 2 dozen cupcakes or 2 8″ cakes or 4 6″ cakes. Happy Baking! -Dan
Hi Dan. Where can i find vanilla bean paste?
Hi Crystal!
You can find vanilla bean paste online, in Stores Like Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma or in some craft stores in the cake isle. You can also use vanilla extract for these cupcakes instead of paste. Happy Baking!
~Dan
Would you use this recipe for a vanilla cake or just cupcakes? And how long do you leave at elevated temp at the beginning.
Hello! I would leave the temp elevated for the first ten minutes of baking and then lower it to the specified temp. For cake layers I’d recommend my confetti celebration cake
Sprinkles can be left out for a perfectly tender vanilla cake 😉
Just seeing this! Thank u!
Hi DAN! An you recommend how to make chocolate cupcakes with this recipe or do you ah e a chocolate cupcake recipe you would recommend???
Hello! I always use my devils food cake recipe for cupcakes.
Hi Dan. Since this is a two step method recipe and requires coating the flour in the fat, which you say inhibits the gluten formation. Will the cake still be light and fluffy or is it more dense, since we are not creaming the butter and sugar for several minutes? Thanks.
Hi Megan! I find these cupcakes to be light yet tender. Not super fluffy but certainly not dense. Give them a try and I’m sure that you will enjoy them!