Happy Joe Cain Day to everyone around here! Happy Valentine’s Day to the rest of you!
I know a lot of people hate Valentine’s Day but I actually kind of love it. Not because it’s a day of love blah blah blah but because it’s an excuse to put hearts on everything and I heart hearts. I really didn’t want to do too much for V-Day (Hello lazy!) but I did want to use these cupcake wrappers and the sprinkles that I snatched up as soon as Target put their Valentine’s stuff out. So I decided on plain vanilla cupcakes and some cinnamon buttercream for a little spice.
The cupcakes were amazing. The cake was so soft and delicious, and the cinnamon buttercream is my favorite. I wish someone had told me how life changing cinnamon buttercream is. I’m already thinking about the next cake I’ll pair with it.
Vanilla Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the buttercream:
- 1 cup butter (softened)
- 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 3 – 4 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
- In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
- Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about ⅔ full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter.
To make the buttercream:
- Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar a ½ cup at a time until completely incorporated, adding up to 4 tablespoons of milk when the icing gets to thick. Add vanilla and cinnamon and beat until just combined.
Katie says
They sound so good I could cry! Cinnamon makes everything better <3
Katie xox
.-= Katie´s last blog ..Double Melissa =-.
Joy says
They are gorgeous!!! I have been looking for a great cupcake recipe FOREVER so will have to give these ones a try – I love you have frosted them… so pretty!! :)
.-= Joy´s last blog ..The Lighthouse Victoria Point – Fantastic Fish and Chips =-.
Memoria says
These cupcakes are perfect! Wow. You need to teach me how to pipe frosting haha.
Liz says
I am the same way about Valentine’s Day – I love it! Not for the greeting card side of it, but more for the kitschy, I can decorate everything in pink and red hearts side of it :)
These cupcakes sound amazing and look beautiful. Vanilla + cinnamon is a heavenly combination. Yum!
.-= Liz´s last blog ..Love is in the Air =-.
megan says
these look delicious!! I LOVE icing. lots of times i eat the icing without the cake. These look so festive and professional too. can’t wait for a reason to try these :)
.-= megan´s last blog ..Giant Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies =-.
Eliana says
The cinnamon buttercream sounds super delish alongside the vanilla cupcakes (which btw look super cute with the hearts)
.-= Eliana´s last blog ..Coconut Cake with Chocolate Chunks and Coconut Drizzle =-.
jill says
how many does it make, one dozen or 2?
amanda says
The original recipe says 30. I halved it with great results, just in case you don’t want 30 cupcakes sitting around. ;)
Katie says
Will this icing recipe cover all 30 cupcakes (piped)?
amanda says
I want to say yes but if you’re like me and like a lot of buttercream, you might want to double it. At least. ;)
Violet HG says
What’s the temperature that you need to preheat the oven at in degrees celsius?
amanda says
I would be 162 degrees Celsius. Thanks for commenting!
Jess says
You’re cupcakes are so perfectly round! Mine never turn out that way; I’d love to know what you do to help them bake up like that!
amanda says
I always “overfill” my baking cups just a bit and I think that helps them get that nice round shape. Like, if it says 3/4 of the way full, I do just under all the way full. Sometimes it makes a mess but when it works out, you get those big, beautiful cupcakes.
Thanks for commenting! :)
PR says
beautiful decorated! what frosting tip did you use to decorate with?
amanda says
Oh man, I wish I remembered. It’s one of the smaller flower tips (I wanna say a 2 from Wilton) and I moved the bag very slowly to get that almost-lacy look. Thanks for commenting! :)