Intro To Cooking: The Best Cupcakes Ever

I have a confession to make: I’m a little bit of a cupcake ho. How can you resist those cute, mini cakes? A portable slice of heaven? The perfect frosting to cake ratio? Recipes that make a dozen so you don’t have to stop after one?

How could you not fall truly, madly, deeply in love?

Unfortunately, being that I’ve been around the cupcake block a few times, I’ve become a bit of a cupcake snob and find myself snubbing the dry and uncreative store-bought variety.

Lucky for me (and you!), I found a simple and yummy cupcake recipe via Appoggiatura.

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes
3/4 C butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract

For the frosting
1/2 C butter (1 stick)
8 oz cream cheese (1 block)
3 C confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. Bring the butter and the eggs to room temperature before mixing.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using a hand mixer. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Then, stir in all of the dry ingredients until just combined. Slowly pour in the milk and the extracts while beating constantly. (Editor’s Note: this sounds a little naughty, no?)

4. Line two muffin tins with cupcake papers. Fill 2/3 of each space with batter.

5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cupcakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the tins to racks to cool. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

6. While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Using a hand mixer, cream together the sugar, the cream cheese, the confectioner’s sugar, and the vanilla extract. Add sugar to bring frosting to the appropriate consistency. If the frosting is too stiff, a splash of milk can be mixed in to thin it. (For best results, keep sticking your finger in there and tasting it. You want it to be perfect, right?)

7. To apply the frosting, use a decorator’s bag to pipe on the frosting. You can also just use a plastic baggy with the corner cut off, because you’re a college girl and don’t even have a spatula, let alone a decorator’s bag. Or, you could just mush that stuff on top with a knife. It will all taste the same.

Since these cupcakes use cream cheese frosting, keep them refrigerated until you serve them, then bring them up to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!