I believe it all started with the perfect vanilla cupcake.

The first cupcake. Light yellow, tasty, heavenly smell.

Everybody loved the vanilla cupcake and started thinking beyond the perfect vanilla cupcake.

What if we add…chocolate (milk, dark, white), berries, hazelnut, cherries, nuts, almonds or coconut. How about orange juice, some artificial colors to make it pink, red, blue or green. Lets top it with cream cheese frosting, sugar frosting, coconut, chocolate, nuts or candy.

The reason I love vanilla cupcakes is that they taste and smell perfect. It’s a real treat. Airy, light and delightful. The best part about cupcakes is that they are probably the most versatile treat you can make. One size, fits all. Want them chocolaty? add some cocoa and sugar or even better – melt the best chocolate you know and mix into them. Want them nutty? fill them with marzipan or nuts, want them sexy? fill them with a rich vanilla cream or Kahlua cream and place a chocolate dipped  strawberry on top. Want them festive? decorate them with colored frosting and put a piece of candy on top. Want them presentable? dress them up to suit the event. Want them zesty? add some whiskey, rum or Kahlua in the dough.  Anything goes with cupcakes.

Kids love them, they are small enough for weight aware people to indulge in them, they are fun enough to raise stand out  so no one can ignore them, and they are pleasurable enough for anyone to take the time to bite into one.

What do we need for the Perfect Vanilla Cupcake:

Makes about 30 cupcakes

• 1.5 cups cake flour
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• A bit of salt
• 250 gr. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1.5-2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Heat oven to 325F, 175C

Mix the dry ingredient together in the kitchen aid and add the butter until you get a sandy consistence of the flour coated butter.

In a separate bowl mix together eggs, milk and vanilla. This can be done by hand with a hand whisk. Whisk until it is light and fluffy.

Mix the egg mix into the flour in 3 parts, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Beat well until all ingredients are incorporated, no need to over mix. Keep it light.

Fill the cupcake cups- I like paper cupcakes but you can use silicone as well. You just need to take into account you get about 30 out of this mix.

You might want to keep half the batter as is and the other half add cocoa and sugar to it (1.5 spoons of each), cinnamon and sugar (1 spoon of each) or melted chocolate (60-80 grams). and make them flavored.

Fill only about 2/3 of the liners. Note that I do not add as much baking powder as other recipes do so they don’t rise too much. I believe that you don’t need the baking powder to get a great looking cupcake. You can decorate it after baking anyway you’d like….

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until light golden and the toothpick comes out dry.

Enjoy decorating them.

Enjoy and let me hear from you!