Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes with Rich, Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes with Rich, Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Cupcakes:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar-I make a vanilla sugar* and I used ½ cup vanilla sugar and ½ cup plain white sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 ½ teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract**-I make my own extract, since I don’t go to México all the time!
½ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. One by one, mix eggs & egg yolk, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and buttermilk, alternately, until mixture is smooth. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into cupcake pan. Fill the cups 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown and when the cupcake is touched, it is springy and bounces back. Cool for 1 hour.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Rich, Dark Chocolate Buttercream frosting

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder-I went to Memphis and bought some Pensey’s cocoa powder-YUM
2 ¼ cups confectioners’ powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons hot coffee-I save the coffee from the am and heat it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Place butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Beat mixture on low until soft and well combined. Add confectioners’ sugar and 3 tablespoons of hot coffee. Blend mixture on low until everything is incorporated. Scrape down bowl. Turn speed up to medium and beat for an additional minute. Add remaining tablespoon of coffee, if mixture is too thick.

Makes enough frosting to cover 24 cupcakes the old-fashioned way or 12 cupcakes the way they do at places like Gigi’s.

*I make vanilla sugar by taking a quart size jar, placing 3 vanilla beans in the jar and filling the jar up with regular granulated sugar. In about 1 week, the sugar starts to take on a great vanilla essence and in about 2 weeks it is ready to use.

**To make homemade vanilla extract, take 3 vanilla beans (I use Mexican vanilla) and place in a clean bottle (I have a bottle from the vanilla extract I bought on my honeymoon-15 years ago). Fill the bottle with vodka (cheap vodka is okay! :) )and seal. In about 6 weeks you will have a great vanilla extract.