A Lady In France

Vanilla Snow Cupcakes

When my blog friend Kim, from My Inner Chick, asked for the recipe to my vanilla cupcakes (next to the calla lilies a few posts ago), I knew I couldn’t refuse. Kim champions the cause of battered women (see Violence Unsilenced). She shouts it from the rooftops, actually – after her beloved sister Kay was shot in the head by her soon-to-be ex-husband in 2010.

These cupcakes are for you, Kim. They are for Kay. And they are for those battered souls who need a voice. No More Keeping Quiet Over Domestic Violence!

Vanilla cupcakes, the easy way.

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F or 180° C. Blend the softened butter with the sugar, eggs, baking soda, salt and vanilla.

vanilla1

By the way, I made the cake part with sugar substitutes – 3/4 cup xylitol and 1/2 cup stevia powder.

Blend it well.

Boil some water and have it at the ready. Put half of the buttermilk and half of the flour into the butter-egg mixture, and blend it. Add the boiling water then.

I use gluten-free flour mixes. This is the best you can get in France.

I use gluten-free flour mixes. This is the best you can get in France.

Put the remainder of the buttermilk and flour, and mix the whole batter thoroughly.

Using a 1/3 cup measure, pour the batter into 24 lined muffin tins.

vanilla3Bake for 18-22 minutes, and cool upside on a rack.

vanilla4Now it’s time for the frosting. You will need the butter for this to be nice and soft as well.

Take 2-3 vanilla beans, and slice them open and scrape out the paste inside with a sharp knife.

vanilla5Put the butter, confectioner sugar, vanilla paste and the 4 teaspoons of liquid vanilla, and mix it together thoroughly. If you have cream, put one tablespoon at a time until the frosting is creamy. I think I needed about four. And you can also use milk.

Pipe the frosting on however you want. In this case, I was careless with my remaining pastry bag, and I cut the hole too large for the tip. So I just squirted the frosting out, making it look (hopefully) like snowy peaks.

vanilla6Yum. These did not last long in our house.

(The cake part was inspired by Sugar Daze, the only authentic cupcake baker in Paris, and the frosting part was inspired by Magnolia Bakery in NYC. The adjustments, etc. were all my own).

vanillaa2In other news, school is not actually over for us yet. We have one more week to go, which means gifts for the teachers (amongst a million other things to do – I AM SO BUSY!).

A chocolate chip cookie dough recipe, where you only have to add butter and eggs, and where the instructions are in French, was the most special thing I could think of to give them.

vanilla10I hope they like it.

I hope you like the cupcakes! MWAH!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Vanilla Snow Cupcakes
 
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Very vanilla cupcakes, with both vanilla bean and vanilla extract.
From:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • Cupcakes:
  • 6 oz softened butter (165g)
  • 1.5 c sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 t baking soda
  • 2 t vanilla
  • 1 t salt
  • ⅓ cup boiling water
  • 1.5 cup buttermilk
  • 2¼ cups flour
  • Frosting:
  • 1 c softened butter (230 g)
  • 6 c confectioner sugar
  • 4 t vanilla extract
  • paste from 2-3 vanilla beans
  • 1-6T cream or milk
Instructions
  1. Cupcakes:
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F
  3. Line 24 muffin tins.
  4. Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda.
  5. Add half of the buttermilk and half of the flour.
  6. Add the boiling water, and mix it all.
  7. Add the rest of the flour and buttermilk and mix.
  8. Spoon into muffin tins, using a ⅓ c measure.
  9. Bake 18-22 mins
  10. Frosting:
  11. Scrape the paste out of the vanilla beans.
  12. Blend all the ingredients thoroughly, adding the cream one tablespoon at a time until creamy. Pipe on top of the cupcakes.

IF YOU’D LIKE MORE RECIPES, CLICK HERE TO SEE MY RECIPE INDEX.

Comments

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Comments

  1. deborah l quinn says

    OH.MY.GOD.
    from those of us who understand that vanilla, not chocolate, offers subtlety, nuance, and a mouthful of joy, THANK YOU.

    (would it be wrong to eat the frosting with a knife straight from the bowl? A friend wants to know. Hypothetically.)
    deborah l quinn recently posted…happy father’s day…My Profile

    • ladyjennie says

      So you’re a vanilla lover? I love vanilla ice cream, but I usually prefer chocolate when it comes to baked goods. These, however, were divine.

    • ladyjennie says

      Oh me too! I had set out to do swirls, but the tip to my pastry bag pushed through the too-large hole and the frosting came out in one big blob. But, you know, you make do!

  6. My Inner Chick says

    OOoooOOOMGosh,
    I can’t wait to make these, Mrs. Francy Pants!

    The icing blows my skirt off! …& I just adore the little silver beads on top.

    Thank you for being such a sweetheart. I shall bake for a special occasion and get some photos.

    Love. Xxxxooo
    PS. the choc. chip jars are perfection.
    My Inner Chick recently posted…Simple Sinful Double Chocolate Chip CookiesMy Profile

  7. ladyjennie says

    Oh, I think that boxed ones are tasty too. But I have to make the gluten free version anyway, so I might as well go all out. 😉

  8. ladyjennie says

    The reason I made them the first time around (when photographed with the lilies) was because Kir(Corner) mentioned she liked vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, and I was like … yum! I have to make that!

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