5/4/09

Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes


Who knew it took four hours to create 4 dozen cupcakes? But it was fun. And the result? Delicious. Thanks for the tip, Martha. And I apologize for running out of confectioner's sugar so my frosting wasn't as beautifully plump-looking as Billy's Bakery's frosting (it still tasted fantastic). Thanks to Annie Porter for referring to the recipe on her blog!

1 ¾ cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 ½ tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together milk and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add eggs one at a time, then add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 1/2 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Angie, I'm looking for a really good, new vanilla cupcake recipe and (of course) wanted to consult your amazing cooking blog! Question: is there a reason it took you four hours to create these cupcakes? I watched the video links and things looked pretty straight-forward when Billy made them on Martha's show. Just wonderin. Btw, yours turned out so pretty!

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  2. I think it had something to do with nit having a double oven and only having one cupcake pan and one mixing bowl. So between washing out the bowl several times, waiting for the pan to cool between baking each of the four muffin tins, and waiting for them to cool before frosting, it ended up taking a while. I'm sure that with a double oven or even just a second muffin tin, it won't take a crazy amount of time. And i didn't have enough powdered sugar so your frosting will look plumper than mine too. :)

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  3. Wow, you are such a dedicated and patient cook/baker! You must live in a little studio apartment in NYC or something-- hehe! Fortunately I DO have a double oven and several cupcake pans and mixing bowls. I was mainly concerned that there may've been a mysterious reason for them taking so long! Thanks!

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