So um… it’s been a while huh? I know I know… I promised a post twice a month but… life happened. More on that later. Lots to share!

Now… where were we? Oh right. Cupcakes. Of course the first post I put up after a YEAR focuses on yet another vanilla cake recipe. I had an hour to kill last week, and I was within a few blocks of Magnolia craving a red velvet cupcake, so I went in for a visit. I got myself a red velvet, a chocolate with chocolate, and a vanilla with chocolate. Don’t worry, I shared with Maheen.

That vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting was delish. Was it so extraordinary that it blew my mind? Um. Not quite. But it was still pretty good. Then things started to align – Sweetapolita had tried the recipe and given it a stamp of approval, I had two parties to go to where I wanted to bring a simple dessert, and I had quite a few eggs that needed to be used up. Hah ok the eggs thing is probably what drove this baking plan

First time around I followed the recipe to the T. Well except I didn’t have self rising flour at home, so I just used some magic and made a batch at home. And my magic I mean SCIENCE :p 1 cup of all purpose + 1 tspn of baking powder = 1 cup of self rising. The cakes were ok. A little dense and bordered on pound cakey. The second time around I sifted the flour combo, was VERY careful to not overmix the batter, and added 2 tspns of baking powder. Results were better. Lighter crumb, but still a cross between a super soft cupcake and corn bread. The cupcakes from the second batch actually got a shout out on my friend Sana’s new modest fashion blog. For anyone looking for great outfit ideas, and fun writing, check her out on modHijabi.com

In conclusion, would I try this again? Eh. Probably not. I think I’m pretty satisfied with my other vanilla cake recipe so I’ll just stick to that from now. If you happen to try this recipe, let me know what you think!

Magnolia’s Bakery Style Vanilla Cupcakes (adapted from Sweetapolita)

• 1  3/4 cups (350 g) all purpose flour
• 2 tspn baking powder
• 1 tspn salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks)(227 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups (400 g) white sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (237 ml) milk
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard muffin tins – 24 in total. My batter actually made close to 26 cupcakes, so I used those extra as tasters
2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Be sure to try and add gradually instead of dumping all the sugar at once. I found that this made a difference in the fluffiness of the butter sugar combo.
4. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.
6. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake in middle of oven until tops turn golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out just clean (a few crumbs is okay), about 18 minutes. I use an ice cream scoop for more uniform cupcakes.
7. Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.