One woman's foray into cooking for herself, for her family, and for her friends. It's not always picture-perfect, sometimes a little messy,
but it's always delicious. Join me in exploring new recipes, savoring the "résultats" and learning from the "erreurs".



Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Making Cupcakes with Noni


I am definitely cake-challenged - at least cupcake-challenged.  I have a difficult time knowing how much cake batter should go into each cupcake tin.  It's either not enough, or, more often than not, overfilled.  I end up with flanged sides to the tops of my cupcakes.  Oh well.  I've accepted my limitations and figure I can cover up most of those errors in "batter judgement" with frosting.  Frosting covers a multitude of sins, yes?  And, to make the cupcakes even more acceptable, I had my two-year-old grand-munchkin in the kitchen helping.  His job was to decorate the frosted cupcakes with sprinkles.  And oh what a wonderful job he did.  Especially on the little cupcake he decided was his.  I frosted, he sprinkled.  And ate.  And licked the frosting off of anything that was within arm's reach.  :-D  Noni was accommodating.  I even frosted his little finger a couple of times.  His little works of art will be served tonight after dinner.  And I will treasure these moments always...

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes

1-1/2 cups self-rising flour
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours.  Set aside.
In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth.  Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla extract.  With each addition, beat until the ingredients are just incorporated, but do not overbeat.  Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well-blended.  Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes.  Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Makes 24 standard-sized cupcakes or 48 mini-cupcakes


Vanilla Buttercream Icing
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, place the butter, 4 cups of the confectioners' sugar, then the milk and the vanilla extract.  On medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency.  You may not need to add all of the sugar.  If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.  Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.  Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Yield:  enough icing to generously frost 24 standard cupcakes or 48 mini-cupcakes

Source:   More From Magnolia, copyright 2004

10 comments:

Martha said...

There is nothing like baking with a child --

La Table De Nana said...

I am in front of the fireplace..with a small netbook... clicked onto your post..and all of a sudden looked up to see where my daughter's wedding song was coming from..all the time.. well 2 seconds..I discovered it was you:)

At Last~..

I LOVE that song..I can cry at it!

Remembering that magical day..

now 3 grandsons later..w/ them..it's even better..
I wholeheartedly love your post Noni~:)Cute edible hands:)

a quiet life said...

looks like you are having a wonderful kick start to the holiday! just popping in to wish you a very merry christmas and thank you for all your sharing at food with style!

Linda said...

Those fingers must have been the sweetest!
I know you are having so much fun!
L~xo

Marysol said...

Precious little elf, and so are the cute little cupcakes!

I particularly love your choice of colors. Pastels are so much prettier and appetizing than the typical red and green Christmas colors.

Merry Christmas to you Lori, and to your lovely family!

2 Stews said...

Cupcakes with kids are the BEST! For us and them:-)

Yes, I think the reason we have frosting is to cover up the cracks....just like good make-up!

Happiest of Holidays to you and the family!

xox Diane

Mari @ Once Upon a Plate said...

Lori, this has to be the most charming post I've seen in a long time... I was grinning all the way through.

I'd say you have a very FINE sous chef there. You and your darling grandson created some beautiful cupcakes (love the variety of decorations!)

The lovely memories will last you both a lifetime, and I'm so happy you've recorded the fun time together... it keeps those memories fresh.

Thank you for sharing, and the smiles. xo~m

Thibeault's Table said...

Lori, I thought I had left a comment here. I keep coming back to look at this post. Over and Over. Love the little two year old hands. Just adorable. You are going to miss him when he goes home.

Ann

Anonymous said...

Your cupcakes turned out very nice....I have to come back when I have more time and check out your blog. I am liking what I have seen so far.

Check out my apron giveaway on my acid reflux blog. http://copingwithacidrefluxandulcers.blogspot.com/

Deana Sidney said...

These are beautiful... I wish I could do frosting so beautifully!

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