Vanilla Cupcakes and Whipped Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

By Contributor Tamara Goyette

I have always enjoyed baking, and my all-time favourite to make are cupcakes. There is just something so fun about a little individual sized cake. There are countless creative opportunities and potential for cupcakes. If you can dream it, you can make it. Sometimes though you just want to keep everything very simple, I have a quick and easy vanilla cupcake and whipped cream cheese icing recipe. The cupcakes remind me of a sugar cookie, and the icing is great if you love the flavor of cream cheese as much as I do.

Vanilla Cupcakes and Whipped Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup of milk

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

• Whipped Cream Cheese Icing
• 1 (8oz.) package of cream cheese
• ½ cup of white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups whipping cream

Instructions

Cupcake Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

- In a large bowl and hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add in the milk, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs at low speed, and then beat on high speed until smooth. This takes about 2 minutes.

- Spoon the batter into a dozen cupcake liners or greased muffin tins, you may be able to get a few more cupcakes depending on how much batter you put in. ¾ full is recommended. (A trick to make this go quickly is to use a large ice cream scoop with the blade feature to help release the batter)

- Bake in the center of the oven, until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle of the cupcake. About 18 minutes.

- Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely.

- If you are making them ahead of time store the cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 1 day, or freeze for up to weeks).

Icing Directions:

- Combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a stand mixer.

- Use the whisk attachment, and mix on medium until smooth.

- While it is mixing, slowly add the whipping cream. You will want to scrape the bottom of the bowl so that it all mixes well together.

- Keep whipping until stiff peaks form. The icing will then hold its shape when you use it.

If making cupcakes for something a party or a little get together, I recommend baking them the evening before you need them, and making the icing the morning of. This way the cupcakes have had plenty of time to cool down, and the icing is fresh. Using a decorating tip makes all the difference for how a cupcakes looks, it just takes homemade cupcakes up a notch to something extra special, add some sprinkles and you’ll be amazed at just how easy it is to make incredible looking cupcakes. With a little practice using the decorating tips, you will quickly have the technique figured out for decorating cupcakes just like you see in all the bakeries. You can use the fancy icing bags, or just simply cut the corner off a plastic sandwich bag and put the decorating tip in, then fill the bag with your icing. This is a budget friendly option. Do you ever have problems with cupcakes that are dry when you eat them? One of the best kept secrets to a moist cupcake, is taking the time to poke a bunch of holes all over the cupcake either with a toothpick or a fork, and then coating the cupcake in condensed milk. Cupcakes are always fun to make, and a great way to get children involved in the kitchen.

Tamara Goyette is a loving wife, and mother to a very determined little girl. The Fraser Valley area of the Lower Mainland in British Columbia has always been home. She loves reading a good book while curled up in a blanket, and sipping a cup of tea. Her blog is about her family, and the adventures, and activities they get up to at Discovering Parenthood.