I'm very excited today as my best friend Sharon is having a 4D scan done of baby Jack! We will get to see what he looks like before she pops him out! How exciting! I'm not meeting her until 6pm tonight so will let you know how it went later.
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To mark the occasion, I decided to make her a batch of blue and cream cupcakes.
My lovely hubby bought me Marha Stewarts 'Cupcakes' book on honeymoon so I thought I'd try her yellow cake recipe. Oh my word it is the BEST recipe for cupcakes EVER!!!
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You have to make these! Granted, it's pretty hard to track down buttermilk. The Sainsburys and Somerfield near us don't sell it. Planet Organic below us used to sell it so I spoke to the manager last month and they have started stocking it again! You see, it just goes to show that if you don't ask, you don't get. :-)
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I also love domed cupcakes rather than the ones that bake flat. I read a trick on the Internet and gave it a try and hey presto it worked! Simply pre-heat your oven to 400 F. Put the cakes in, close the door and turn it back down to 350 F.
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These cupcakes are not overly sweet, which I think is best when frosting with creamy butter cream. My favourite butter cream recipe is the one I posted a few days ago by Hummingbird Bakery. Again, this is not overly sweet either. The cake had a delicate but firm, moist crumb.
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You have to make these!
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Recipe:
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Makes 36 (and it really did make exactly 36!)
Makes 36 (and it really did make exactly 36!)
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3 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted (see my note about cake flour below)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
9 ounces (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs plus 3 large yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted (see my note about cake flour below)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
9 ounces (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs plus 3 large yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
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Directions
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
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Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
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Reduce speed to low. Mix remaining wet ingredients in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl.
Reduce speed to low. Mix remaining wet ingredients in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl.
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Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each full.
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Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
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Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
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TIPS:
If you want the cakes to dome, pre-heat your oven to 400 F. Put the cakes in, close the door and turn it back down to 350 F.
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I make my cake flour by putting 2 x table spoons of cornflour into a 1 cup measurement. Then I fill the rest of the cup with plain flour. This gives you 1 cup of cake flour!
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Use an ice cream scoop to put the batter into the cases. This ensures all cakes are the same size.
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I domed my cakes so only baked for 18 minutes and they were perfect.
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Boxed and ready to go :-)
Wowsers, they look fabulous!!! Well done on discovering the trick to dome them x
ReplyDeleteGreat tip about the ice cream scoop
ReplyDeleteThe cupcakes were lovely! Thank you!! S xxx
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment about my fruit leather, I apologize profusely for not getting back to you sooner! Did google help you out with your questions or are you still wondering about dehydrators? Let me know, I will probably post more fruit leather recipes and tips soon since there was a lot of interest.
In other news your cupcakes are just beautiful! These ones as well as the other ones you've posted. And maybe you already know this, but just in case you are unawares, you can make your own buttermilk if you have milk and lemons. Just squeeze 1 T. of lemon juice into 1 cup of milk and wait 5 minutes. Or there is buttermilk powder that is popular too. I've had great success with both for when you can't find it in stores.
And so great you got to go with your friend to see here little bebe, that is so fun!