Cupcakes/ Desserts

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

A vanilla cupcake made VERY vanilla by using vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract in the batter!  This is such a simple and easy cupcake recipe to throw together (no mixer required), especially when you need to make cupcakes in a pinch.  And that’s actually how this recipe evolved.  Such a funny story…

I bake almost every day because it truly is my passion.  But I have to be feeling creative and be “in the zone” in order to bake.  Plenty of times I walk into the kitchen, put my apron on, get my music going and then nothing.  No inspiration.  No idea what to bake.  And other times I have a million things I want to bake.  But now, with the blog, it gets a whole lot more complicated.  When I am making something, I have to write everything down as I go, accounting for every pinch or teaspoon I add to a recipe.  I stop in the middle of a recipe to take pictures.  Then take pictures after I am done baking.  Edit pictures, upload pictures to my laptop, write my blog post and hopefully find something to talk about to keep you somewhat entertained, add the pictures, write the recipe up and then proofread and make 10,000 corrections.  So each blog post probably takes me a good 5-6 hours of actual work.

And now you are reading this going, “but vanilla cupcakes?”  Yes, yes, yes.  Back to vanilla cupcakes.  So there I am one Saturday afternoon.  Not sure if I feel like baking, but it had been a few days, so I figured I would knock out a couple recipes that I was dying to make.  I made some brownies for a friend who had just had surgery and another healthy peanut butter ball recipe for another friend.  I finished everything early and decided I should clean the house!  So there I am, in a cleaning frenzy, when my friend Jackie texts me and asks if I can make some cupcakes for a family birthday party for her son Lucas for the next day.  Of course I say yes.  But normally when I make special cupcakes, I spend a few weeks researching and developing a cupcake and frosting recipe, find a cute way to decorate the cupcakes and do my grocery shopping a few days in advance.  No time for any of that!

Luckily Lucas just wanted vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting.  I have a killer Funfetti Cupcake recipe and a yummy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe here on the blog already, so I just adapted my Funfetti Cupcake recipe to turn the recipe into a Vanilla Bean Cupcake recipe and used my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe (but doubled it) for the cupcakes for Lucas’ party.  I used vanilla bean paste to make these, instead of the vanilla extract I used in the Funfetti Cupcakes.  If you want to make these and don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can just use extract.  You just won’t have as vanilla-y a taste and your won’t have those vanilla bean specks in the batter that I love so much 🙂

Since I was on a time crunch, I sent my hubby to the grocery store for me, to grab the few ingredients I needed for these cupcakes, so I could finish cleaning the house.   I decided I would just dedicate my Sunday morning to making the cupcakes and then frost them after lunch, right before the party.  My plan worked out perfect.  And it didn’t hurt that this recipe is so quick to whip up too.  Cupcakes in a pinch y’all!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Print Recipe
Serves: 36 Cooking Time: 20-minutes

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 cups white granulated sugar
  • 2-1/4 cups milk, room temperature (I used whole milk)
  • 3 eggs, beaten, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
  • 3/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt, room temperature
  • 5 (scant) cups all purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350-degrees and line three cupcake tins with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.

2

In a large microwave safe mixing bowl, add the butter. Melt the butter in the microwave. Remove the butter from the microwave and let it cool on the counter. While the butter is cooling, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg to a medium sized bowl and stir until combined. Set aside.

3

Once butter has cooled, whisk the sugar into the butter. Mix until fully incorporated (mixture will look grainy). Slowly stir the milk into the butter-sugar mixture. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Slowly add the beaten eggs to the mixture, stirring the mixture as you add the eggs. Stir in the vanilla bean paste and greek yogurt into the wet ingredients. Stir all ingredients until completely combined. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are fully incorporated, but do not over mix.

4

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full of batter. Bake cupcakes, one tin at a time, in 350-degree oven for 20-minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out without raw batter on it. Once cupcakes are cool enough to handle, transfer the cupcakes from the cupcake tin to a wire rack to cool completely.

5

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, frost with desired frosting.

Notes

If not baking and serving cupcakes the same day as serving, then store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature. Frost cupcakes the day of eating, for best results. Store leftover frosted cupcakes in an airtight container, at room temperature (or in the refrigerator if you are concerned about any cream that is in your frosting).

Once your cupcakes have cooled completely, it’s time to frost them!  For these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes, I used my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe, but doubled it.  I had leftover frosting, but better to have too much frosting than not enough, amirite?!  If you would like to use something other than chocolate frosting, click HERE to see all the frosting recipes I have here on the blog!

Ahhh…that chocolate swirl.  This chocolate frosting smells as amazing as it tastes!  Store bought definitely does not even compare!

Since I didn’t have much time to make elaborate decorations for the cupcakes, I went with fun rainbow sprinkles…you can’t go wrong with sprinkles!

So there ya go!  My simple Vanilla Bean Cupcake recipe.  It doesn’t taste simple, but no one needs to know how easy it was to make these 🙂  Definitely worth pinning for when you have a last minute dessert you need to make for a party or bake sale!

XOXO,

Kelly

 

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PS—

I have linked this recipe up at the following link parties: The Pin JunkieThe Weekend PotluckPretty Pintastic PartySugar and SpiceMeal Plan MondayFriday FrenzyCreate Link InspireWhat’s Cookin’ Wednesday.  Click on the links to check out a ton of amazing recipes!

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11 Comments

  • Reply
    Kim “The Baking ChocolaTess” Lange
    March 8, 2017 at 5:06 PM

    You can’t go wrong with vanilla bean cupcakes and chocolate frosting! 🙂 They look amazing!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      March 9, 2017 at 8:38 AM

      Thank you Kim!! XOXO 🙂

  • Reply
    cakespy
    March 9, 2017 at 3:02 AM

    I know that you’re not here right now, but if you were, you would have heard me say out loud, “oooooooh” when I opened up this page. Sweet perfection!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      March 9, 2017 at 8:40 AM

      Hahaha I love you! You are so funny!! Thanks darling! Glad you you they were awesome! XOXO 🙂

  • Reply
    GiGi Eats Celebrities
    March 9, 2017 at 7:22 PM

    Those babies look phenomenal!!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      March 10, 2017 at 1:37 PM

      Hehehe thanks! I love your blog by the way….you totally made me laugh with your post about boobs 🙂 XOXO

  • Reply
    Amy (Savory Moments)
    March 10, 2017 at 6:54 AM

    These look seriously delicious — especially with that pillowy frosting on top!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      March 10, 2017 at 1:45 PM

      Thank you Amy! I am not a huge frosting person, but this chocolate buttercream is chocolate heaven! XOXO

  • Reply
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