(That and I realized that I have four types of flour. Seriously.)
Anyway, I'd been whining about how I never had time to bake anymore, mostly because my focus has been on the horses. But since I made the decision at the last minute to pull Gia from the Willoughby show today, I found myself with some free time last night. And, since I found out that it's Jessy's mom Krista's birthday today, I figured it was exactly the excuse I needed to break out my (slightly dusty) baking tools.
I'd been eyeing up a recipe I'd seen on Sweetapolita for a fluffy white cake and frosting that interested me. It's actually not that easy to make a basic vanilla cake and frosting that isn't too heavy or sweet. In fact, in order to get the light texture, you'll see how much work went into it.
And nothing says "birthday" like a white cake and vanilla frosting! Of course, given the choice between cake and cupcakes, you know I'm going to make cupcakes. And given the choice between regular cupcakes and mini cupcakes, you know I'm going to make minis!
So, I dove in!
In order to make the cake portion, you need:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk, also at room temperature
2-1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour (this is important-- not regular all purpose flour)
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
Preheat your oven to 350, and line your cupcake pans.
In a medium bowl, add the egg whites, 1/4 cup of the whole milk, and the vanilla. When you put those ingredients together, it looks disgusting. Don't lose heart. Beat the mixture for a moment and set aside.
Next, get out your sifter. I know, sifting sucks. It's tedious and really tests your hand strength! But, if you want a fine silky batter with no lumps, it must be done.
Sift the cake flour into a larger bowl.
Once you've recovered, add the sugar, baking powder and salt, and whisk together.
Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients...
... as well as the remaining 3/4 cup of milk, beat on low speed just until moistened, and then on high speed for 2 minutes.
Add the egg white mixture in 3 batches, beating on low for 20 seconds between each addition. The batter will look odd, I warn you... to me, even after beaten, it looked like it would separate at any moment. It didn't, it just looked that way.
Fill your cupcake liners...
... and bake for about 25-35 minutes. The toothpick test will tell you when they're done.
Gorgeous!
Let them cool, and prepare for your frosting! Now, I warn you-- this is a labour-intensive process... but it's so worth it!
You'll need:
1-3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
If you can't find a vanilla bean (which, sadly, I couldn't) you can use 1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract instead.
In a big bowl, beat the tar out of the butter. No seriously, beat it on high speed for 8 minutes. You will feel that your arm is about to drop off. I stopped every once in a while to scrape down the sides of the bowl... hey, it was a good excuse to give myself a break!
When it's been beaten that long, it looks like frosting already. (But blech, I'm sure it still just tastes like butter!) It gets very pale and creamy.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat for ANOTHER 6 minutes. Oh, and be sure to sift your powdered sugar, if you don't want lumps in your beautiful fluffy frosting.
Now that it's done, I had the hard task of choosing what colour the end result should be.
(I have too many choices in my cupboard!)
But... I'm sure no one will be surprised at what I chose...
In my defense, it's Krista's birthday! What better colour for a birthday woman??
Anyway! I frosted all the little suckers (the batter makes at least 50 minis, by the way) and when they were all laid out I thought they needed something more. I immediately thought of sprinkles (there are many situations where I immediately feel that sprinkles are the answer) but I really wanted something more sophisticated. Then I had the answer-- I still had a half-full bottle of edible glitter from my wedding cake pops. So, glittery pink cupcakes it was!
I'm in love :)
And the taste? I actually think this is one of my all-time favourite recipes. As you know, I quite often don't eat what I bake. But these are great, not overly sweet, and a wonderful texture. They also store well (Tupperware in the fridge, then pull them out for an hour and they will be soft again) so I admit to having a few more than my fair share today :)
I hope Krista enjoyed them, I think this is a recipe I'm going to pull out for a few parties in the future!
Although... I think I need to invest in a bit more edible glitter!
Ta ta! Willoughby show update to come!
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