Cupcake Bouquet

Today I gave my hand at a cupcake bouquet.  It was my sisters birthday today so I had the perfect excuse to bake a bunch of cupcakes!  Thanks sis for having a birthday!  Anyways . . . I LOVE how it turned out!

The cupcakes are Ultimate Vanilla cupcakes infused with vanilla bean.  Recipe to follow.  I made a few adjustments.  The recipe calls for whole milk and I only had 1%.

The same goes for the sour cream.  The recipe calls for full fat and I only had light on hand.

And here's a handy tip.  I didn't have cake flour so heres what I did.  I put 2 tablespoons corn starch into a measuring cup and then filled the remainder of the 1 cup measuring cup with regular all purpose flour and then leveled it off. Then I put 1 tablespoon in a half cup and filled the remainder with AP flour and then 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch in 1/4 measuring cup and then filled the remainder of it with AP flour as well.  That got me the 1 3/4 cake flour substitute that I needed!

 Make sure if you are using a stand mixer to occasionally scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  See all that stuff that wasn't getting mixed in.  

 And these are the cupcakes ready to be decorated. If you look real close you can see the yummy flecks of vanilla bean. Mmmm.... so tasty!  These really taste super yummy even without frosting!  Highly recommend this recipe.

The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
from thecupcakeproject.com
Yield: 16 cupcakes

• 1 cup (225 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 3/4 cups (175 grams) cake flour, not self-rising
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup (75 grams) full-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable oil (60 ml)
• 1 tablespoon pure (not imitation) vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. In a small bowl, combine sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean.
3. Using the back of a spoon, move around the bowl and apply pressure to break up any clumps of seeds and to better infuse the vanilla flavor into the sugar. Set aside.
4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the vanilla bean sugar and mix until well combined.
6. Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes.  Because there is so little butter, you'll end up with a very fine crumb texture.
7. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
8. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
9. Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined.  The batter will be liquid.  (Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong.  It's supposed to be that way.)
10. Fill cupcake liners just over 1/2 full.
11. Bake for 14 minutes and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it.  The cupcakes should appear white with specks of vanilla bean. They should not turn a golden brown.  If they are not done, test again in two minutes.  If they are still not done, test again in another two minutes.
12. When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack (or just on your counter if you don't own a cooling rack) to cool.

Vanilla Buttercream

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening
5-6 cups powdered sugar (varies depending on the constancy you're going for
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and shortening until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, whipping cream, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.