Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes

I've been baking everyday for the past two weeks and I couldn't be happier. If I'm staring out into space and not listening to what you're saying, it's because I'm thinking of what to bake next. Either that or wondering which culinary school I should be attending. With almost a full carton of buttermilk and new years nearly upon us, I decide to make Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes found on Nicole Weston's Baking Bites website. The frosting is an easy Vanilla Buttercream recipe from SimplyRecipes.com.

Looks like the new year is off to a great start.


Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ tsp almond extract (I omitted this bc Jason is allergic to nuts)
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F. Place liners in a 12 cup muffin tin.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until it looks creamy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla and almond extracts until mixture is smooth.
Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until almost combined. Add buttermilk and stir, again, until almost combined. Add the rest of the flour and stir until all ingredients are mixed in.
Divide batter evenly into muffin cups.
Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350F, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Let cupcakes cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the muffin pan. Cool completely before frosting.
Makes 12 cupcakes

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)

Beat the butter and slowly add in the powdered sugar. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean (or vanilla extract if using) and beat in.