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White Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

from Ad Hoc at Home

Ingredients

For the white cupcakes:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoons salt
  • 12 tablespoons 1½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
  • cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • cups milk
  • 6 egg whites at room temperature

For the vanilla bean buttercream:

  • cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 6 egg whites
  • sticks 14 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.
  2. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and 1½ cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternately with the milk. Set aside.
  4. in a clean mixer bowl on your stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the egg whites until they begin to speed. Add the remaining 1¼ cups sugar and beat until the whites are thick and almost hold stiff peaks. Fold ⅓ of the whites into the batter to lighten it. Fold in the rest.
  5. Fill the muffin cups about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes -rotating the pans halfway through – until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clear.
  6. Cool completely before frosting.

To make the buttercream:

  1. Bring a saucepan half full of water to a simmer. Set a bowl over the water; do not allow the bowl to touch the water. Combine the sugar and egg whites in the bowl and whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch.
  2. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whip until the whites hold stiff peaks and are cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.
  3. Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the butter a little at a time, being sure each batch is incorporated before moving on. The mixture may look broken, just continue beating until it comes back together.
  4. Add in vanilla and beat until combined. Check the consistency; if it's too thin, continue beating until it's thick enough.