Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 dozen
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour (or an additional 1 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour)
¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup heavy cream
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 large egg whites
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 fresh vanilla bean
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat the whole milk, heavy cream and egg whites in a mixing bowl until well combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Alternately beat in the flour mixture and milk mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp knife and carefully scrape the seeds from the pod. Add the seeds to the batter and stir on low speed until just incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, filling each cup about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pans for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Bean Icing
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. cold milk
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1 fresh vanilla bean
Preparation:
Cream the butter and vanilla paste on medium-high speed for 1 minute until smooth. Add about 1/3 the powdered sugar and beat smooth then add another third. Beat the frosting until smooth, adding cold milk as needed. Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add a small amount of milk, if desired, to achieve a thinner consistency. Carefully split the vanilla bean lengthwise using a sharp knife and scrape the seeds into the frosting. Beat until just combined then pipe onto cooled cupcakes.