Valentine’s Cupcakes: Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Buttercream Frosting

Happy Cupcake Tuesday! I’m so excited you are here! Looking for a cupcake recipe? Be sure to check out the Cupcake Heaven page, there are over 200 cupcake recipes and decorating ideas!

Well…I had big plans for the Valentine’s Cupcakes for today…and then it hit me! No, thank goodness not the flu…the dreaded…”can’t decorate a cupcake for the life of me” day. Really…I tried at least 4 different decorations on top of these cupcakes, and nothing seemed to be going the right way.

However, I do love how they turned out, and most important is the recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes and Buttercream Frosting. The decorations can really be whatever you have on hand or pick up at the store.

A few weeks back, after an email from a reader looking for my favorite Vanilla Cupcake Recipe, I decided I better start looking for a recipe that I could call my favorite. This recipe comes from Glorious Treats, she calls them Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes. And I will have to say, they are pretty good!

I followed Glory’s recipe exactly, purchasing a new box of cake flour, which definitely does make a difference in baking. The only change I made was the vanilla, I used what I had on hand, and probably had I used a better quality vanilla, the taste would have been a little richer.

I frosted with homemade Buttercream, then rolled in Valentine’s sprinkles and topped each cupcake with a simple red heart made with Candy Clay.

Candy Clay…a mixture of candy melts and corn syrup…is easy to make and super easy to roll out and work with. Oh and…it’s delicious, not like fondant! Most recently I used it on the Notre Dame Cupcakes. You can grab the recipe and instructions for the Candy Clay.

The micro heart sprinkles make me happy!

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Vanilla Cupcake Recipe with Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes

Total Time: 24 minutes

A light and fluffy cupcake that stays together and doesn't crumble. Recipe from HoosierHomemade.com. Adapted from Glorious Treats

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Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup cake flour, like Softasilk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, room temp is best
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk {splash of vinegar in a measuring cup, fill with milk and let set for a couple minutes}

Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup real butter, unsalted, room temp
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and fill pan with cupcake liners
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, add sugar and continue beating for about 30 seconds
4. Add oil and vanilla and beat well
5. Gradually add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk
6. Beat until well combined, batter will be thin
7. Divide into cupcake liners, 2/3 full - be careful NOT to overfill
8. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
9. Cool completely and frost

Buttercream Frosting

1. Beat butter until fluffy
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with heavy cream and vanilla
3. Whip until fluffy and desired consistency
4. Frost cooled cupcakes

Notes

Recipe only makes 12 cupcakes, can be doubled easily

Resources:

• Original recipe from Glorious Treats
• Valentine Cupcake Liners from Hobby Lobby
• Candy Clay Recipe 
• Micro Valentine Heart Sprinkles
• Valentine Nonpareils

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