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Pretty Pink Vanilla Cupcakes

June 18, 2011 by Audra 21 Comments

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All my friends are getting married and having babies!!! Well….not all of them, but the most I’ve ever encountered as of yet. Later this year I have 4 friends expecting babies and at least 5 weddings. And that’s just in New York! If I counted my friends from Milwaukee the list would go on and on…. Anyway- It is fun for me to live vicariously through them and help throw out baby names and wedding ideas and get excited about the big life-changing events happening around me. It seems as if there is one moment where suddenly everyone grows up and starts moving on. That is especially hard in New York where I think we all want to stay fun, spontaneous and hip as long as possible.  But things are changing with the friends my age..I can feel it….just a minor shift in focus. A small change in what all my girlfriends want…stability, home-life etc. Even I sometimes daydream about an actual house vs. an apartment that only has 3 rooms. It’s like New York City has a force about it though, a gravitational pull that almost makes me panicky to imagine leaving…

Anyway- I’m trailing off again. What’s my point? Cupcakes? Yes.  I made these cupcakes for my friend Amber’s baby shower last weekend. She is expecting her first baby girl in a few months and I am so excited to welcome the little nugget into the world. Hers will be the first “book club baby” which works well because we don’t allow boys anyway. :) Amber is one of the sweetest gals I know, and I wanted to make pretty girly cupcakes for her shower. (I’m also making her a baby quilt which I will try to post a pic of when it’s done!)

Since I knew I wanted to tint the frosting different shades of pink, I decided to go relatively simple with the cupcake flavor. (that and I had to make Andy’s cheesecake on the same day and I knew anything complex would be stress city.) Vanilla-vanilla seemed like the way to go. Simple, classic and easily tinted pink. It took me awhile before deciding on a recipe and I’m happy with how they turned out! These will definitely be my go-to cupcake and butter cream recipes. They were both easy and fast, with lots of room for creative flavor combinations in the future!

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Pretty Pink Vanilla Cupcakes
Yield: 30 cupcakes
 
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 tbsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1¼ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp. plus ½ tsp vanilla extract
Frosting:
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside. Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and creamy in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.
  3. Add the sugar to the butter mixture, ¼ cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
  4. Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about ⅔ of the way full (you will likely have batter left over after filling 24 wells.) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Replace paper liners and bake remaining batter if desired. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
For the Frosting:
  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.
3.5.3251

 

Sources:
Cupcakes: Adapted from Annie’s Eats
Frosting: Billy’s Bakery via Martha Stewart

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Recipes Tagged With: Vanilla

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Comments

  1. Tina @flourtrader says

    June 18, 2011 at 12:19 pm

    These make an awesome presentation-I love the pink. Great pics.
    Yes, sometimes I wish certain things would remain the same but time will not allow it. thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Adora's Box says

    June 18, 2011 at 12:27 pm

    Why does pink food taste so good? Does pink have a taste? I wish I was one of your lucky friends.

    Reply
  3. Tiffany says

    June 18, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    Pink’s my favorite color! :D

    Reply
  4. Alexandra says

    June 18, 2011 at 1:36 pm

    Vanilla/vanilla…my favorite! And so pretty!

    Reply
  5. The Harried Cook says

    June 18, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    What a pretty color! Those cupcakes are adorable… Your photographs are very nice too! Thanks for sharing :)

    Reply
  6. Cassie @ Bake Your Day says

    June 19, 2011 at 12:17 am

    You just can’t go wrong with a simple vanilla flavored cupcake, especially when they look so cute!

    Reply
  7. In Katrina's Kitchen says

    June 19, 2011 at 2:02 am

    Pink makes things taste better. I’m sure that these cupcakes were just lovely. But pink?! Put one in front of me and I won’t be able to resist! lol

    Reply
  8. Vanessa says

    June 19, 2011 at 6:55 pm

    Where do you get these plastic containers?

    Reply
  9. Erin says

    June 19, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    Great cupcakes – the pink is a perfect color! So pretty! I am sure your quilt will look amazing as well!

    Reply
  10. Audra says

    June 19, 2011 at 7:55 pm

    @Vanessa- I got these at a store called The New York Cake and Baking Co. I think they have an online store too :)

    Reply
  11. yasmeen says

    June 20, 2011 at 11:28 am

    I totally, completely understand where you’re coming from on the push/pull of life stages! I’ve always been a traveler and love the energy of Melbourne… but slowly, surely, the nesting is creeping up on me! Arg.

    All that aside, gorgeous cupcakes. So feminine!

    Reply
  12. Ana Helena says

    June 21, 2011 at 1:33 am

    So pretty and elegant. Love them!

    Reply
  13. Anonymous says

    June 23, 2011 at 2:34 am

    These are beautiful cupcakes but I made them and they are to heavy and dense for me. They were not moist and light like I would want from a cupcake. Once I made them I ended up filling them with a strawberry reduction and made them into strawberry shortcake cupcakes. That helped.

    Reply
  14. Audra says

    June 23, 2011 at 3:51 am

    @above comment: Sorry they didn’t turn out for you…I found these to be VERY light and fluffy. I wonder if maybe something didn’t get added correctly. Did you use cake flour?

    Reply
  15. Michelle Benoit (Chocolate Central) says

    June 25, 2011 at 4:08 am

    Pretty pink cupcakes! Congrats on making Top 9 on Foodbuzz.

    Reply
  16. Anonymous says

    June 29, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    I love the shades of pink! How did you create those specific shades? Thanks!

    Reply
  17. Kim - Liv Life says

    July 22, 2011 at 5:54 pm

    With a description of “my go to cupcake”, these were the choice for me! They are in the oven as I type, my daughter requested “pink” for her birthday, and these sound ideal!!! Thank you!!

    Reply
  18. Audra says

    October 24, 2011 at 6:12 am

    Oh wow- I just noticed the above comment asking about the colors!
    I used Wilton Gel Food Coloring- Rose and Pink. I just added different amounts to get lighter or brighter colors :)

    Reply
  19. Anonymous says

    October 30, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    My little girls love the story “Pinkalicious” by Victoria Kann Totally gonna make these for them.

    Reply
  20. Erin Port says

    June 30, 2013 at 4:18 pm

    Very nice post.. I definitely appreciate this site.. Thanks! Roofing of Fort Worth, 8100 Wallace Road, Fort Worth, TX, 76135, US, 817-330-8100

    Reply
  21. roofing Madison says

    July 21, 2013 at 10:37 pm

    I was recommended this web site via my cousin.
    I’m not certain whether this publish is written by means of him as nobody else realize such unique about my problem. You are wonderful! Thanks!

    Reply

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