Vanilla Cupcake {w} Nutella Whipped Frosting

Let's talk the cup-cake. Now, some might argue that the frosting is the star, but not for me. I'm a cake snob. It must be perfect. It must be light, but not so light it crumbles apart. There needs to be a dense-ness to it, without it being dense like a pound cake. It must be moist, but not so moist that it seems underdone {best moistness test being... is it still moist the next day}.

A basic Vanilla Cupcake is like a blank canvas. You can do anything with a really good Vanilla Cupcake. Any topping, any filling, any frosting, or any combination of the 3. It's a license to be creative and have fun. This also means that the Vanilla cake must be outstanding and must hold all of the qualities I've mentioned above. Lucky for you, I've made made enough cupcakes over the last 6 years, and tested enough recipes that I have found the Perfect Vanilla Cupcake.

This Vanilla Cupcake recipe is adapted from a food blog titled Cookies & Cups. There are a few things I've learned from this recipe. Mixing order & temperature of the ingredients do matter! I prefer slightly chilled ingredients as opposed to room temperature, like this recipe calls for. Following the order of instruction is even more important, as this recipe will fail you if you deviate or are impatient and just want to throw everything in. Trust me, I've failed so you won't have to.

Photo Credit Given to Cookie & Cups

Isn't that most perfect looking cupcake ever? Perfect dome on top {always the sign of a good cake} and if you look really close, you can actually see it's moistness.

Perfect Vanilla Cupcake

Recipe Adapted From: Cookies & Cups

MAKES 24-28 CUPCAKES

• 1 3/4 cup Cake Flour {recipe for DIY cake flour to follow}
• 1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 3/4 cup Sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 cup Butter, cut into small pieces {cold, not quite at room temperature}
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup Milk (2% or whole)
• 2 1/2 tsp Vanilla 

To Make the Cupcakes --

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
3. In bowl of stand mixer add the first 5 ingredients and stir together using paddle attachment for about a minute. Enough to get them nice and combined.
4. With mixer on low, drop in butter, mixture resembles coarse sand {no large chunks remain}.
5. Add eggs one at a time on low speed.
6. With mixer still on low slowly pour in milk and vanilla. Turn mixer to medium and beat for 2 minutes until batter is smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
7. Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes until centers are set and toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool in cupcake pan for a few minutes before removing.
9. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

DIY Cake Flour -- if you don't have Cake Flour on hand, don't going running to the store. It's super easy to make on your own, and you are likely to have what you need at home. In a sifter or sieve, add 1 3/4 cups of All Purpose Flour then add 4 Tbsp {equal to 1/4 cup} of Cornstarch and then sift several times until well combined. You'll end up with 2 cups of Cake Flour. Use what you need an then store the rest in a Ziploc bag.

This frosting is for the die hard Nutella lover {like my daughter}. "Tasty" could not adequately describe the delicious goodness that is Nutella Whipped Frosting. You are in for a real treat with this one. Paired with the Perfect Vanilla Cupake makes it -- well, perfect. I'm already planning on making these again later this week, but this time, I may dunk the tops of the cupcakes first in melted chocolate. Sinful, I know.

Nutella Whipped Frosting

MAKE ENOUGH TO FROST 24-28 CUPCAKES

• 1 cup Butter, at room temperature
• 1 - 13 oz container of Nutella {which is a little more than a cup and half, but really, I couldn't just leave one lonely ounce in the container to store}.
• 4 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2-4 Tbsp Heavy Cream

 To Make the Frosting --

1. Combine Butter and Nutella in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.   
2. Whisk on high until combined, scraping the sides often.
3. Add Vanilla and Powdered Sugar, one cup at a time until combined.
4. Add Heavy Cream {last} 1 Tbsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
5. Continue to whisk on high until light and fluffy {about a minute more}.

Enjoy. I sure did. In fact, you may need to prepare yourself with an excuse for eating one for breakfast the next morning. My excuse was "it's supposed to be Spring, but it's snowing outside and I woke up with a stuffy nose, therefore deserve a cupcake for breakfast." Totally legit, don't you think?