Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Whew! This last week was crazy busy! Between benefit enrollment and various other work issues along with a birthday party, it was a lot going on. Last Sunday was Boss's Day and last Wednesday was my Boss's Birthday, sooo... I had to make her some cupcakes! :-)  She's just a classic vanilla cake-type of lady, which is perfect for a simple birthday dessert. 

When I'm making a quick and simple cupcake (or cake for that matter) I usually just use a boxed cake mix and "doctor it up" to make it taste more homemade, but I ALWAYS make the icing/frosting/butter cream from scratch. Making the butter cream from scratch really makes the cake. The best boxed cake mix that I have found, is Duncan Hines. The recipe calls for eggs, water and vegetable oil. To make a boxed cake taste more homemade, I use milk instead of water (you can use chocolate milk for a chocolate cake) and unsalted butter instead of oil. The cakes taste more moist and have a richer flavor!

After mixing the batter, I scoop it out with an ice cream scoop - the cupcakes come out the same size and cook evenly. I also bake the about 10-20 degrees less than what the recipe calls for (i.e., if the recipe says to bake at 350 degree, I bake at 340 degree for cupcakes and at 330 degrees for cakes - they bake more evenly that way).

Once the cupcakes are finished, let them cool completely before piping the butter cream on top. I made a simple vanilla butter cream for these cupcakes - it was one that I received from my cake decorating instructor and it is delicious! And so simple too! One recipe of butter cream is more than enough to top a batch of cupcakes (and I am very generous with the butter cream!) but you may need more (say 1 1/2 of the recipe) to cover a 2-layer cake.

 
Pipe the butter cream on the cupcakes in any way that you wish and Enjoy!