Baking for a loved one always feels right to me, and this week I got to make a dual purpose treat. Kevin’s birthday is February 11, so this year his birthday cake has a Valentine’s theme. Which is okay with him, as he adores these cupcakes!
I can’t take credit for them as they are inspired by cupcakes Kevin’s mom made many times in his childhood. I use a rich vanilla cupcake as the base and finish them off with cherry icing.
Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Line muffin tins with festive cupcake papers.
- Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together in a bowl.
- Melt butter in a separate bowl, then whisk in eggs, milk and vanilla.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir well. Batter should have a smooth, uniform consistency.
- Pour into pan and bake on the middle oven rack at 325 F for 20 minutes , or until tooth pick inserted into a middle cupacke comes out clean.
- Makes 12 cupcakes.
The smell of these cupcakes while they bake is heavenly. The vanilla, butter and sugar make your kitchen feel like a gourmet cupcake shop.
Cherry Icing
Mix 1/4 cup of butter (softened) with 1 cup icing sugar and a splash of maraschino cherry juice, stir until smooth. Add icing sugar or a little milk until desired consistency is reached. Chop 8 maraschino cherries into tiny pieces and add to icing for an extra cherry treat. Cupcakes can be decorated with half a cherry, dry the cherries on papertowel first to keep the color from running. You could also use Valentine’s themed candy like cinnamon hearts or sweet tarts for decoration.
I adore cupcakes with pink frosting nearly as much as I adore La Gourmandesse.
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