Rachels Vanilla Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; beat in half of the flour mixture, then all of the milk, then the remaining flour mixture until just combined.
• Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely. Top with Frosting.
• Whisk the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) until the mixture is warm and the sugar dissolves. Remove the bowl from the pan; let cool slightly.
• Beat the egg white mixture in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer) on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 12 to 15 minutes. Beat in the butter a few pieces at a time, then continue beating until smooth. (Don't worry if the mixture looks separated at first-it will come together as you keep beating.)

Steps:

• Cream the butter, applesauce, and sugar together with an electric mixer. (Note that you can still use a whole stick of butter for a richer flavor and lighter texture but I find that the batter is less manageable that way.).
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Beat in the flour and baking powder at the same time.
• If the batter is really thick and you're unable to get it into the muffin papers, loosen it with just a little milk, no more than a tablespoon or two. I just eyeball it. Any kind of milk works, 1% is just what I usually have in my house.
• Pour this batter into lined muffin tins, filling the cups about halfway; same with the baking pans-- no more than halfway! Or else there'll be spillage. If making cakes with the round or rectangular pans, be sure to grease them with cooking spray first and lightly dust with flour for easy extraction.
• For cupcakes, bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. For round cakes, about 20-25 minutes. Rectangle cake-- 25 minutes. This is what works in my convection oven. Just bake them until lightly golden brown on top.
• Let cool for about 15-20 minutes prior to frosting.
• FOR RAINBOW CUPCAKES: Divide the batter into separate bowls depending on how many colors you want. Add the food coloring to each bowl, according to the box instructions or your own method. Carefully spoon the different colored batters into the muffin tins, but don't mix. Fill the muffin tins about halfway. They should bake in pretty rainbow colors!
• FROSTING: put the butter, salt (if necessary), vanilla, and about 1 cup of confectioners sugar into a deep mixing bowl. Beat them all together with an electric beater or food processor.
• Note about the butter- for best results without lumpiness, soften it for at least 1 hour prior to making the frosting.
• Add the milk and more confectioners sugar alternately, mix until creamy and spreadable. I just eyeball the two, but 3 cups sounds about right.
• If you want to add food coloring to the frosting, follow the directions on the box or use your own method that works. Separate the plain white frosting into different bowls/containers to dye them different colors.