Makes 12 Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
Ingredients:
- For the Vanilla Cupcakes:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- .
- For the Strawberry Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 (16 oz) package powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries, chopped
- additional strawberries to garnish
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Beat sugar and butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat a medium-low speed just until blended after each addition (the batter will be thick).
Line a 12-cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners. Divide the batter evenly between the liners. Bake for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool on a rack before frosting.
To Make the Strawberry Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
Beat the first 3 frosting ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with strawberries, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Spread on cooled cupcakes.
