28.7.12

Vanilla Cupcakes with Mint Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm terribly sorry it's been so long! The reasons not to post have been stacking up on each other. I guess this is how it's going to feel when I'm at college. It's devastating.

I had planned on taking a few pictures to show you what kinds of yummy treats I enjoy when I'm on vacation. Yeah, about that... Ha, it was all too good to wait to eat. I do have a picture of a giant root beer, though, and it was the original, homemade kind. God, it was good.

My mom and I went for a three-day getaway to Galena, IL, a nice little jaunt from our house. We stayed in a beautiful old Victorian house called the Ryan Mansion, built in 1878. It was absolutely gorgeous; I've got a select few of my favorite pictures to show you. This is a real dress owned and worn by the original Mrs. Ryan to a ball they had had in their third-floor ballroom. It's stunning.

 This is the four poster canopy bed my mom and I slept in. What little girl didn't want a princess bed?

 My favorite view in the whole house. These were the servants' backstairs; I don't even know why I love it so much, but I do.

The outdoor patio underneath a gazebo, hidden behind some bushes. Gorgeous, right? The Ryan family once owned a square mile of land and it's been dwindled away over the years to just a couple of acres. It was an absolutely beautiful house and if you find yourself in the area, I definitely recommend it. The owner's cooking is good, too! For breakfast the first morning, we had french toast made from cinnamon swirl bread, with cream cheese and orange marmalade sandwiched between the pieces, served with fresh fruit, juice, water, and hot tea or coffee. The second morning wasn't my favorite because I don't eat seafood, but it was fresh fruit and a blueberry scone (homemade, of course, and fabulous), accompanied by a croissant covered with crab meat and hollandaise sauce. I wish I had pictures of Oklahoma and AOP to show you, but my picture-remembering skills are bad.

It sounds like the rest of the post is going to be boring, right? Completely wrong! These are my favorite cupcakes in the world and I would just eat the batter plain all day if I could. I try to pair them with interesting flavored frostings, as a vanilla cupcake is usually considered boring.

This recipe uses cake flour, but you can use regular flour; cake flour has less protein and makes a lighter, fluffier cupcake. It's from one of my favorite blogs, Glorious Treats, and here's a link to her post.

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the two eggs until a light yellow color and add the sugar. Blend until completely combined.

Add the vanilla and the oil and beat. Add half of the flour mixture and combine thoroughly.

Then add half of the buttermilk, blend completely; add the other half of the flour mixture and mix. Finally, add the last half of the buttermilk. Beat on medium from 30 seconds.

Bake for 11-14 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then move to a wire wrack. Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:
1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure mint extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1 to 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
Food coloring

Beat the butter on medium until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat about one minute. Blend in the vanilla, the mint extract, and the powdered sugar on low speed. Add the cream one tablespoon at a time; I used only two because anymore might have made it too gooey. I planned on making it green, but long story short, it's blue instead. It tastes wonderful.

This recipe makes 15 well-sized cupcakes, which is much easier to get rid of than 600. I'm still not over the traumatic experience of making so many for my grad party. They were a hit though; if astrophysics falls through, I guess I've got a back-up.

I'll post again soon; maybe some homemade pizza? That sounds pretty yummy right about now.

Keep stirring, loves!


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