In celebration of Savoring Solo turning one I am excited to share with you all these Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes. I love cupcakes and think they are the perfect dessert when wanting to celebrate a special occasion or person. Finding recipes that make less than a dozen cupcakes is hard and sometimes you only need a half a dozen. I first created this recipe for a friend who wanted a gender reveal cupcake but found no bakery would make her only a few cupcakes. So I made these and sent three home with them so they could each have one. I cut out a triangle from the top and filled it with large sprinkles the color of the gender before frosting. The sprinkles spilled out when their adorable daughter bit into the cupcake. I’ve now made these a few times with some slight tweaks each time and absolutely love how this final version came out. The cake is super soft and light thanks to the buttermilk and whipping the egg whites first. I learned that the acid in the buttermilk does a much better job helping these cupcakes rise than regular milk does by activating the baking soda. So next time you have something to celebrate or if you are just craving delicious vanilla cupcakes give these little beauties a try.
Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla cupcakes
- 4 Tbs butter melted
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 4 Tbsp butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line 6 spots in a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Add egg whites to the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment beat until soft peaks start to form. Add the sugar and continue beating until the sugar is mixed in and the egg whites are now stiff peaks.
- Add the vanilla, melted butter and buttermilk to the egg whites. Stir with a silicone spatula or spoon until just combined. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Continue to stir until the flour is mixed in. You don't want to over mix as this will remove the air from the egg whites.
- Evenly divide the batter into the 6 cupcake liners. Bake for 18 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin and allow to completely cool before frosting.
- Make the buttercream by adding the butter to the bowl of your mixer. Use the regular paddle attachment and mix until the butter is soft and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar a little at a time. You will need to scrap down the butter and sugar mixture from the sides of the bowl from time to time. Once all the powdered sugar is added, add the milk and vanilla extract. If the frosting is too thick you can always add in a little more milk.
- Frost the cupcakes by placing the frosting into a small ziplock bag and sealing it up. Cut the corner of one end off so that the frosting comes out in a thick ribbon. Swirl around the top of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles and enjoy!
