Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

another cupcake army to add to my infantry.

My roommate's birthday was on Tuesday, and even though we're in finals mode (so my cooking adventures will stall for a little bit), I decided that everybody needs sweets on their birthday. These were great because they're easy to make, really tasty, and end up looking really pretty. Trader Joe's is really close to school, so I go there for really high quality ingredients. Also, I bought these cupcake liners from Dierberg's but you can get them from any grocery store, they add a little flare to what seems like an ordinary cupcake! I also bought piping bags from the same grocery store, and if you like to make cupcakes, cakes, or anything with frosting or anything with pretty designs, I would suggest investing in piping tips. They're really cheap and helpful! I use disposable piping bags because I think they're a little more cleanly and hygienic than the reusable ones, but either will work. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

for the cake (original recipe here): 

1 3/4 cups cake flour

1 cups sugar

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk, divided

2 large eggs

1 large egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 vanilla bean seeds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

for the frosting:

2 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350℉

1. To make the cupcakes, line a cupcake pan with liners, set aside. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a metal bowl. 

2. Add the butter and 1/4 cup of milk. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 

3. In another bowl, blend the eggs, egg white, remaining 1/4 cup milk and vanilla. Add to the batter in 3 additions, mixing for 2 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between additions.

4. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full, and bake for 15-20. Remove when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

5. To make the frosting, in a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar. Fill piping bag and pipe frosting onto cool cupcakes.