Thursday, July 2, 2009

America The Beautiful Cupcake!

These are an adaptation of Jack's Rainbow Cupcakes. I upped the vanilla ante by adding vanilla sugar and buttermilk. I changed out the colors and added sprinkles resulting in a very patriotic cupcake. I made the star cupcake topper by punching out 2 circles of printed paper (I found the star by googling "star clipart") and gluing them together with a flat toothpick in the center. Fun, huh?

Speaking of sprinkles. I have a confession to make. I have a problem. I really serious problem. I think I'm crazy. No, seriously. Wanna know what convinced me and my husband of this? You see those sprinkles in the cup and on all those cupcakes? Well I picked them out of a bottle of multi-colored sprinkles one by one. It was late and I didn't want to go to the store and I didn't think I'd need that many. I was wrong and very foolish. My eyes were playing tricks on me and my body was aching from being hunched over in a chair for a couple hours. Don't be as dumb as I. Go buy yourself some red, white and blue sprinkles. It'll be worth your sanity. I can attest.

These are cute, fun and are very Americana. Kids love them, adults love them and they'd be a hit at your 4th of July celebration. Or make them in any color combo you like or just plain vanilla. They're very tasty either way. But I have to admit, the colors make them much more exciting!

Triple-Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes adapted from Amy Sedaris
  • 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. vanilla sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsps. pure vanilla
  • 1/4 vanilla bean, scraped
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk

In a medium bowl, mix together salt, baking powder and flour. Stir to combine then set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl, then add in egg. Add vanilla extract and the seeds of half a vanilla bean. Beat until well combined.

Alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the butter/sugar mixture. Start with flour, end with flour.

If you're adding food coloring to your batter, evenly separate the batter into as many bowls as you need- one for each color. Add food color to the desired color and mix well. Repeat until all the colors are well mixed.

Spoon or pipe your batter into the muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes for regular cupcakes and about 15 minutes for mini cupcakes.

Makes 10 cupcakes.
Vanilla Bean Frosting from Cupcake Bakeshop
  • 1 sticks (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 package (4 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
  • 2- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Then add the vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, and 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like.

I put my frosting into a large freezer bag, snipped the end and piped the frosting onto the rainbow mounds. Add colored sprinkles for garnish (optional).

Makes enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow. I'll have another patriotic surprise for y'all! So come back ya hear!

18 comments:

Mermaid Sews said...

These are amazing, really really cool. I just did another big cupcake order last night 10 doz, in patriotic theme, wish I had seen this first - although the cupcakes didn't get eaten today, long story and it really upset me since it was a lot of work, but what can you do, not my fault. BTW, I got the outline of the butterflies to stay wet because once the bags were are the right perfectly melted temp from hanging out on the heating pad, I was able to work quick enough (one wing at a time). Have a great 4th!

Julie said...

The cuteness level is just over the top there! And I'll bet they are mucho delicious :)

Donna-FFW said...

Monica.. what a gorgeous cupcake. Really impressive.. Gosh your eyes must have been so tired separating the sprinkles. All that vanilla flavor in the cupcake must taste so delicious. They are sure to be the hit of wherever you are taking them!!

Vodka Mom said...

THose are incredible! Now get your butt over here and help me get ready for my party!

cookies and cups said...

These are so great! Very very cute ~ I love your blog!!

Debbie said...

The cupcakes look great. Love the red, white and blue! I can't imagine how you managed to pick out all those sprinkles one by one....wow....

Creative Classroom Core said...

I am a sucker for cute cupcakes, and these certainly got my attention! Love them!

michelle said...

These are amazing and look incredibly yummy! I"m making the "amateur" version today with my kids; a box of white cake mix! ha. Can't wait to make them though!

Elissa said...

These are so pretty! I'm not actually a big fan of food coloring in general but man, I love 4th of July themed desserts with the red white and blue. The cupcakes look picture perfect!

Heather S-G said...

They are beautiful!! You are such a great baker...I swear...always fun desserts :D

Smitten Sugar said...

These look so pretty! I might give these a try tonight for the holiday weekend! So cute!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Those are awesome! Yeah, I can see everyone going gaga over those! I like how the cupcakes are striped and the toppers definitely send them over the patriotic top!

You picked out all the red, white, and blue? Insane!
~ingrid

Kerstin said...

What incredibly cute cupcakes!! They would definitely be a huge hit this weekend! I love that last picture of the cupcake cut in half - so fun!

Foodiewife said...

Okay. Uncle! How many jars of jam would buy a plate of these? I am so lacking in artistic talent, so I don't think mine would turn out as gorgeous as these. Pant, pant.
xoxo

The Caked Crusader said...

Picking out the sprinkles! Now that's dedication to your art!

Sophie said...

These are so so so sossososososososo pretty!!!! :) My cupcakes are always so ugly :P!

Gracey said...

Simply A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! WOW!

Shauna said...

omg ---- picking out the sprinkles ---- i would have had a splitting migraine.........

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