Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

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Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting – delicious, light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes with a luscious vanilla buttercream frosting, perfect for your next birthday party or other celebration.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

My son requested vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting for his 7th birthday this January. My son can be picky when it comes to cake and cupcakes, so I am happy to say that this recipe was a big hit.

My son loved these Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting, all the kids loved them, and the adults loved them too. The cupcakes are light and fluffy and so delicious, the buttercream frosting is luscious perfection.


Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

This buttercream frosting is one that I’ve been making for years. It’s a mixture of butter and shortening with a hint of vanilla. I love the consistency of the butter and shortening combined and it’s great for decorating. My son loves this frosting and would eat it by the spoonful, if I would let him.

The tricky part was finding a cupcake recipe that my son would love. I’ve made many cakes and cupcakes over the years, but have yet to find the perfect one for my son. He likes cupcakes that are light and airy, similar to the ones you get at supermarket bakeries.

I first made a test batch of this recipe from Food.com. I’d made the recipe before and they are good, but my son wasn’t a big fan. This time I tried the same recipe but used cake flour. My brother was visiting and he and my husband enjoyed those cupcakes declaring that they were “firm, evenly cooked, had a good texture and a nice sponge.” One of my daughters liked them too, but my other daughter and my son, not so much.

So, my search for the perfect cupcake for my son continued. I scoured the Internet, reading what seemed like hundreds of recipes and reviews. I finally settled on this recipe, by Glorious Treats, she describes her cupcakes as light and fluffy and that sounded just like what my son wanted in a cupcake.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

These Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting turned out wonderfully. The cake is definitely light and fluffy, just the way my son likes it, and with the buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are amazing!

(A note about the frosting: My son requested frosting that was blue, green and a blue/green mixture for his cupcakes, you can pick whatever color(s) you like or have no coloring at all.)

These Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting are perfect for kids birthday parties, and would be a wonderful treat for any type of celebration or get together.

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Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes

Total Time: 44 minutes

Yield: 16 cupcaks; 2 1/2 cups frosting

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting – delicious, light and fluffy vanilla cupcakes with a luscious vanilla buttercream frosting, perfect for your next birthday party or other celebration.

Ingredients

    for the cupcakes:
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups cake flour
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup buttermilk
    • for the buttercream frosting:
  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • icing color(s), preferably in gel/paste format, of choice (optional)

Instructions

    for the cupcakes:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or place 16 cupcake liners in muffin tin(s). I used one 12-cup muffin tin and one 6-cup muffin tin (using only 4 of the 6 cups) .
  2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar.
  3. Add oil and vanilla to bowl and beat to combine.
  4. In a medium bowl, wisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
  5. Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat on low speed to combine. Add half of the buttermilk and beat on low speed to combine, scraping down sides as necessary.
  6. Repeat step 5 with remaining half of flour and half of buttermilk.
  7. Divide batter evenly among 16 prepared cups of muffin tins. Each cup should be about 2/3 full.
  8. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
  9. Place muffin tin(s) on racks and cool for 10 minutes.
  10. Remove cupcakes from tins and cool on racks until ready to frost.
    11. for the frosting:
  11. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat shortening and butter until well combined.
  12. Add vanilla to bowl and beat to combine.
  13. Add confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
  14. Add milk and beat until frosting is light and fluffy.
  15. Add small amount of icing color to bowl (I use a toothpick), beat well until color is incorporated. Add additional coloring if needed to reach desired color. (optional)
  16. Frost cupcakes using a knife or pastry bag fitted with tip of choice.

Notes

I used Wilton Icing Colors (that are made from a concentrated gel formula) to color the frosting. I used a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip to frost the cupcakes in the photographs. Leftover frosting freezes well.

http://joylovefood.com/vanilla-cupcakes-buttercream-frosting/

Cupcake recipe adapted from Glorious Treats, frosting recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.
 
Vanilla Cupcakes Buttercream Frosting
 
This recipe is featured at:
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36 comments

  1. Marie says:

    How did you get your frosting that color blue someone what’s me to make the same cologne blue

  2. Pingback: Brown Sugar Banana Snack Cake with Vanilla Frosting - Joy Love Food
  4. Michelle says:

    Vanilla is my son’s favorite flavor. I try to sneak in some chocolate chips or something…but nope. He likes vanilla all the way. Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting would be a dream come true for him! Thanks for sharing!
    Michelle recently posted…Mardi Gras 2015 {Meat Pies}My Profile

  15. Bob Larson says:

    I can vouch for these cupcakes. They are yummy!! I am not biased on this, even though Joy is my daughter and I eat these right out out of her oven. It is hard to wait until they are cool enough to eat. Having just one is also hard for me! Love you Joy!

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