More cupcakes (and a bit of frustration)!

Every now and then, the cooking and baking Gods give me a lesson in humility and yesterday was one of those days.

We attended a housewarming party last night and in honor of spring and the fact that I’ve been on a cupcake kick, I decided to make vanilla cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese frosting.

The cupcakes came together pretty well — I’ve been on a quest for a moister vanilla cupcake, so this time, I started with a base recipe borrowed from Nigella Lawson, replacing a bit of the butter with mayonnaise, which I’ve read can add moistness to th cakes. I also replaced the vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste (which can be found at specialty cooking shops).

The frosting recipe, I borrowed from one of my favorite bloggers, Tartelette. The frosting itself is extremely easy to make and really delicious. Unfortuntely, I managed to screw up my first batch, added some water to my raspberry purree and by the time I mixed it into the frosting, it turned into a gloppy mess. Grrrr!!

Luckily, I’d followed one of my cardinal rules in baking — always buy extra ingredients!! So, into the trash went into the trash and a fresh batch went into the mixer. And this time, I lightly smashed the raspberries and put them through a sieve to remove the seeds (no water).

Anyway, after an extra hour in the kitchen (and going through an entire roll of paper towels after dumping a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge — Grrrr again!!), the cupcakes came out beautifully — the warmth of the vanilla and brightness of fresh berries are a perfect compliment, plus they looked great on the buffet at my friend’s party (until they all dispappered).

The moral of this story is that everyone has a bad day in the kitchen now and then, but patience and plenty of extra cream cheese can fix anything. Good luck!

Vanilla Cupcakes
makes 24

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
4 eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
6 teaspoons of milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients except the milk into a food processor (I used a blender since I don’t have a food processor). Pulse or blend just until combined and add in the milk and blend again until batter is smooth and fluffy.

Scoop batter into 24 muffin cups lined with paper liners (I always use an ice cream scoop). Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
frosts apx 24 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 Tbs raspberry purree (handful of fresh raspberries, purreed and pushed through a sieve to remove seeds)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon whipping cream

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add in vanilla and raspberries. Gradually add in powdered sugar, a little at a time until smooth and fluffy. Add in whipping cream and whip on high until frosting is smooth and creamy.

Spoon frosting into a pastry bag (I just use a 1 qt Ziploc bag with the tip sliced off) and pipe onto cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a fresh raspberry. Enjoy!