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| Look! It's a Peep family! |
On the drive home Friday night, I decided I wanted to make cupcakes for Easter. (For some reason I have been really into baking lately.) After a quick stop at the store to get Easter cupcake liners (yes, I had plain ones at home but what fun is that?), I was ready. I knew I wanted to make vanilla cupcakes because I saw some cute Peep cupcakes and I wanted to copy them. I also planned to add coconut on the frosting for 'grass', so I thought vanilla cake would help tone down the sugary-sweetness. I have never really found that awesome vanilla cake taste and texture combination - most are fine, but I really wanted to find awesome! So after looking around online I stumbled across this recipe, and I decided to give it a try - I was intrigued by the oil instead of butter switch. It definitely fit the bill for awesome - not too sweet, great texture and I am pretty sure I could put anything on or in them and it would be good. (It even tastes good 4 days later and counting...).
Vanilla Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup oil (any oil can be used, I used sunflower oil, but canola, light olive oil or vegetable works as well)
1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice- add acid to the milk then set aside for 5 minutes before using
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Beat the eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed to combine, don't over mix. Add sugar and combine, then add vanilla and oil. Add half of the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Mix, then add the rest of the flour mixture. Beat until just combined and smooth, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl. The batter should be thin.
Pour batter into a lined muffin pan - between 1/2- 3/4 full. Bake for 12 -14 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let them cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then remove.
Once they are completely cool, frost with your favorite frosting. I used a coconut milk frosting and I thought it went great with the coconut grass and peeps, but it was not as "fluffy" as some that I have used in the past.
Coconut Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup coconut milk (from the can not the stuff you use for cereal)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream the butter and 2 1/2 cups of sugar, add the coconut milk and vanilla. Whip until well combined, then add powdered sugar until it is the correct taste and texture that you would like. Usually I will add sugar until I am happy with it, and then whip it on high speed until it changes to a lighter shade and fluffs up.
Frost, decorate and enjoy!
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