um...just so you know...: April 2011

Yellow Cupcakes(makes 12)

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the butter, sour cream, egg, yolks, and vanilla and beat the wet ingredients into the dry at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and stir by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the prepared tin using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or a spoon. Bake until the cupcake tops are pale gold and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Use a skewer or paring knife to lift the cupcakes from the tin and transfer to a wire rack; cool the cupcakes to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

4. Spread 2 to 3 generous tablespoons of the frosting on top of each cooled cupcake; serve.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (from Magnolia Bakery)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition, until icing is thick enough to be of spreading consistency. (You may not need all of the sugar.) If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. Store at room temperature, in an airtight container, up to 3 days.

(Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes)