Feb 2, 2011

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes





I have always been kind of apprehensive about making cupcakes. They look so perfect in bakeries and in pictures, that I actually hesitate to take a bite of them and spoil their delicate beauty. :D So I worry that mine wouldn't turn out so pretty.

So, I had some buttermilk left over last weekend after I baked the Buttermilk Cake (my previous post) and I finally decided to give cupcakes a try. A quick Google search showed me a nice, easy looking recipe from Baking Bites, Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes. Exactly what I was looking for.

The recipe makes 12 cupcakes and I have only a 6-cupcake mold, so I had make the batter and bake in two batches. I feared the batter wouldn't work well the second time around, but it was fine, since cupcakes don't bake that long anyway.

My first batch of cupcakes ever!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes



Ah! please excuse the intrusion of my hand into the picture, I had to hold it up for better lighting and I was kind of in a hurry. These had to be packed off for my husband's colleagues and he was running late.

Well, anyway. This trial wasn't exactly free from disasters. Like I said before, I baked these in 2 batches of 6 each. So the first time around, I overfilled the paper cups, which caused the cupcakes to overflow in the oven :(. They turned out like this.

Overflowing Cupcakes!


Bad, bad!

The second time around, I filled less, but I had sufficient batter for only 5 cups. So obviously I overfilled the first time.

Batter-filled Paper Cups

This one worked out just fine. So the trick is to fill it just about a little more than half way. Or fill all 12 cups together so everything is distributed equally.

The second batch baked okay.

Hot Vanilla Cupcakes!

These cupcakes are very light and delicate in texture. The amount of butter in the recipe is unusually low, which I think is the reason. They have a nice flavor. Personally, I'm used to rather dense and thick cupcakes, which is the kind we get in most local bakeries in Hyderabad. So this was unusual but very tasty all the same. 

RECIPE ~ Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes ~ Makes 12

Ingredients
  • Butter - 1/4 cup or 4 Tbsp
  • Granulated Sugar - 1 cup
  • All Purpose Flour - 1 1/3 cups
  • Large Egg - 1
  • Buttermilk - 1 cup
  • Baking Powder - 1/2 Tsp
  • Baking Soda - 1/2 Tsp
  • Salt - 1/4 Tsp
  • Vanilla Extract/Essence - 1 Tsp
  • Lemon Extract/Essence - 1/4 Tsp
Note: The original recipe uses almond extract, but given my previous disaster with that, I chose to substitute with Lemon. You can use almond if you like, or even orange should work. The lemon flavor was not so dominant.
Please refer to my last post on how to prepare buttermilk and buttermilk substitutes: here.

Utensils & Bakeware
  • Mixing Bowl and Spoon
  • Electric Hand/Stand Mixer (optional)
  • 12-cup muffin mold. Regular Size.
  • 12 paper muffin cups (optional)
  • OTG / Convection Oven - Microwave or Regular
  • Cooling wire rack or tray
Procedure
  • Prepare the muffin tray by lining with paper cups. If you don't have any, grease each mold with butter and dust with flour. Tap off excess flour.
  • Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, soda and salt) in a bowl and mix well. Sift if needed to remove lumps.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and mix until creamy on a high speed.
  • Add the egg and mix until incorporated.
  • Add the extracts/essences and mix.
  • Alternately add the flour and buttermilk in around 3 additions, mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
  • Divide the batter equally between 12 muffin cups.
Note: Like I said, the amount of butter is surprisingly small, so don't be surprised if it isn't creaming with the sugar. Mine didn't do that very well, but everything turned out okay.
If you don't have an electric mixer, you can use a balloon whisk or wooden spoon.

Baking Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F for about 10 minutes. 
  • Bake cupcakes at the same temperature for about 20 minutes. Just until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  • Remove cupcakes from the tray and place on a cooling rack. Cool completely before serving.
I hope you give this recipe a try, and please let me know how it worked out for you. As always, I'm happy to hear from you!

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