For some reason, Car’s birthday always sneaks up on me and finds me unprepared. I think it’s because I’m finally getting adjusted to the crazy back to school schedule and think I can take a breather, and then realize I have to pull off a birthday party, school cupcakes, and a family celebration. Don’t get me wrong, I love birthdays and all the celebration – they just exhaust me. 🙂 Car asked for vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for his school cupcakes. I was expecting a chocolate request, but thoughtful Car told me that there were several kids in his class that didn’t like chocolate.
I want to let you know straight away that this cake/cupcake recipe is not fast and easy. It’s not particularly difficult; it just has steps that need to be followed and makes more dishes than a one bowl throw it together quick kind of recipe. I also use a kitchen-aid mixer which is fairly powerful, so if you are using a hand mixer, this might take a bit longer. I wouldn’t recommend trying this without a mixer of some sort. Not sure the egg whites or frosting would whip enough when beating by hand (at least not before you were exhausted!)
Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcake batter
- 2 eggs separated
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 1/4 all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese softened
- 5 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. milk if necessary for thinning
Instructions
For the cake batter:
- Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a perfectly clean bowl (not a speck of grease or they won't whip). Save the yolk for later part of recipe.
- Whip the egg whites until frothy, gradually adding 1/2 cup of sugar. Continue beating until very stiff and glossy. Place in another bowl for later use.
- Place the flour, 1 cup remaining sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl and mix until combined.
- Add the oil, half the milk, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Add the egg yolks and remaining milk. Mix well. The batter should be nice and smooth.
- Fold in the egg white and sugar mixture, making sure that it is incorporated well with no streaks of egg white showing.
- Fill cupcake liners half full. I like to use a muffin scoop to measure, but a regular spoon will work also.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
- Cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
- Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Mix well.
- Add 1 tsp or more milk if needed to thin for piping. You want it somewhat stiff so that it doesn't sag when piped, yet thin enough to pipe easily. Cream cheese frosting is naturally softer than a straight butter frosting, so go easy on the milk.
To get started, we first need to whip 2 egg whites until frothy, then gradually add the sugar and whip until stiff and glossy. Have patience and let it whip longer if in doubt.
The next step is to add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the vegetable oil and half the milk, mix well. The batter is almost crumbly at this point. Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and the rest of the milk. Mix this until very smooth. If you find you have lumps, kick up the speed on the mixer a bit until it gets nice and smooth. Fold in the egg white mixture (by hand) until well incorporated. Use a rubber spatula and make circles from the bottom to the top until the 2 mixtures are well incorporated. You don’t want to deflate the egg white mixture, yet you want it well mixed together so there are no streaks of egg white. It won’t bake evenly if it isn’t mixed well.
Use cupcake liners in your muffin tins – this recipe makes 24 so you’ll need 2 muffin tins/cupcake pans. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 – 2/3 full with batter.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Try to place the 2 trays side by side for even baking. When I’ve put one on a top shelf and one on a bottom, inevitably one is cooked more on the top or bottom. Right in the middle is what you are aiming for. 🙂
Let the cupcakes cool completely.
For the frosting:
You want to take the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge ahead to soften a little bit. If you are using Neuchatel cream cheese, then I wouldn’t let it get as soft. Full fat cream cheese needs to soften longer.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until well incorporated, then add the vanilla extract and mix well. Add in the confectioners sugar and start on low speed until mixed well. To avoid the poof! of sugar when the mixer starts, take a piece of saran wrap or dish towel and wrap around the top of the bowl, holding it against the mixer in the back. CAREFULLY, start the mixer – watch your hands and if anything goes awry, turn the mixer off! Don’t stick your hands in there – it’s powerful. I’ve tried using the splash guard that Kitchen Aid offers, but find it doesn’t really prevent the poof because there is still a big whole in the middle. A dish towel works best, but hard to show here. I also use this when making a double or triple batch of something like cookies. The mixer can handle everything but the additional flour when first getting started to mix.
Once the confectioners sugar is well incorporated, increase the speed a little bit and mix until nice and smooth. If you find the frosting a little thin for piping, then add a teaspoon of milk. Don’t add too much! Cream cheese frosting is smoother and already more spreadable than regular butter frosting, so be careful not to add too much milk.
Pipe the frosting onto the well cooled cupcakes or you could frost with a knife or spatula as well. I use a large star tip (Wilton 1M) for piping.
Top with your favorite sprinkles or leave plain. Box them up. You can find cake boxes at some craft stores or an aluminum cake pan with a clear top works well too.