vanilla-vanilla cupcakes

i have no idea who amy sedaris is, but people are praising her vanilla cupcake recipe all over the 'net. i'm usually weary of random people recommending recipes instead of bloggers i'm familiar with, but it seems a handful of people on the bakebakebake community on livejournal have made the recipe with success. still, i wasn't expecting anything amazing since i believe everything tastes better with chocolate!

as far as the frosting goes, i've had my eye on cupcake project's vanilla bean butter cream recipe, since she is the one who introduced me to the wonders of vanilla bean paste. once again, i wasn't expecting greatness simply because i'm not a huge fan of butter cream. oh but i was wrong. oh so wrong. stef was not lying when she said it tastes like vanilla ice cream. and seeing the flecks of vanilla bean send it over the top! i stood over the beaters for about five minutes just taking samples for "quality inspection" purposes.

i've only made butter cream a few times but i'm always fascinated with the process. one minute you have some butter and sugar, then it gets crumbly, and all of a sudden everything comes together into a creamy delicious mess.

here is the recipe for amy sedaris's cupcakes, as it appears on her website:

Amy Sedaris' Cupcakes

1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups of sugar

Beat well, then add:

Add 2 large eggs
2 Teaspoons of pure vanilla
½ teaspoon of salt
2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
2 ½ cups of flour
1 ¼ cups of milk

Beat well, fill cups, and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. You should get 24. I get 18, 'cause I'm doing something wrong.

here are some of my hints: bring the eggs and butter to room temperature. after you have already mixed in the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking powder, alternate adding flour and milk. if you want to be extra fancy, sift all of the dry ingredients together. i used part milk and part half and half since i only had skim in the refrigerator. i came out with 24 cupcakes and could probably have gotten one or two more. i can't imagine what 18 would look like. massive!

and as far as the deeeelicious frosting, it's pretty straight forward as well:

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting Recipe

from the cupcake project

• 1 1/2 C confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1/2 C butter (room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (add more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon milk

Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy. Add vanilla bean paste and milk and continue to beat for another minute. If desired, add more vanilla bean paste to taste, or more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer.

yummmmy!!! this doesn't make very much frosting. if you want to really pile it on with an icing tip and pastry bag you would need to double it for even 12 cupcakes. since it's pretty rich, i opted to spread it on lightly with a spatula instead and it was enough for 2 dozen cupcakes.

the cupcake itself isn't too light or too heavy. very moist. the frosting is amazing, like i said before, it tastes like vanilla ice cream! however i love chocolate too much so i found these a bit plain. i would make either the cupcakes or the frosting again but not both together. i'm thinking the cupcake recipe would go well with a chocolate frosting, and the vanilla bean frosting would be fantastic with the chai cake recipe i have.

Birthday Chai Cupcakes

I apologize ahead of time for the lack of pictures. I failed to take any before the cupcakes were eaten by everyone on New Year's Eve. I made some chai cupcakes and some chocolate buttercream frosting. Last year I made it as a layer cake (2 layers) but I've caught onto the cupcake craze of 2006. I think I used a 1M Wilton decorating tip when icing, but I can't be certain since I'm updating from a lab and not my home. I also put some cute dinosaur toys on top of the frosting cause my roommate is wild about them.

Vegan Chai Cake
(Recipe originally submitted to vegsource by Chef Deb, modified by Livejournal user _andie_)

2 cups self-rising flour (I substituted with all-purpose flour and baking powder, as per this recommendation)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegan margarine
2 tablespoons apple sauce
1 cup strongly brewed chai tea (Use 2 bags in the water)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla essence (I omitted the vanilla this time around since I used vanilla chai.)
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350º. Brew the cup of chai. Cream margarine and sugar in a bowl, then cream in applesauce. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients and chai tea bit by bit into the margerine and sugar mixture, whisking well to avoid lumps. Add more hot water if needed. Finally add vanilla essence. Pour into greased cake tin or a cupcake pan either greased or lined with paper wrappers. Bake for 30 minutes (cake) or 20 minutes (cupcakes), or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (I usually let the cupcakes hang out in the pan for about five minutes before removing them to cool.)

I used Bake and Destroy's recipe for buttercream and it turned out beautifully. It was my first time making icing from scratch!

Fluffly Vegan Buttercream
(originally posted here)

1⁄2 c non-hydrogenated shortening
1⁄2 c non-hydrogenated margarine
3 1⁄2 c confectioner’s sugar, sifted if clumpy
1 1⁄2 t vanilla extract
1⁄4 c plain or vanilla soy milk

Beat shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add vanilla and soymilk, beat for another 5 to 7 minutes or so until fluffy.

I added a few tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa so it would have a hint of chocolate but not overpower the cake. It was really neat to watch everything come together into frosting. A cautionary note: Powdered sugar will fly everywhere so be careful you don't inhale it. Your countertop may be covered in a fine dusting of it too.

Note :Store the iced cupcakes in an airtight container. Don't refrigerate (even with nonvegan ingredients in the icing, it's stable when all mixed together) because you may get condensation on the food -- moisture provides a perfect environment for bacteria to thrive!