Vanilla Cupcakes a la Billy's Bakery

Aren't they pretty?  The recipe is from Billy's Bakery via Martha Stewart, but the colors are my doing.  Billy appeared on Martha Stewart's show because his cupcakes were deemed the best in New York City.  And while I'm not 100% convinced that's the truth, I can vouch for the deliciousness of these cupcakes.  Here's the recipe, which has now replaced my old vanilla cupcakes recipe:

1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 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

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 (or a bowl or whatever, there is no real reason to use a measuring cup in particular), 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 2/3 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.  Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired (I personally had no such desire, but I'm sure it would be lovely).  Serve at room temperature.

It occurred to me that I forgot to post my frosting recipe last time.  This is because I don't have a frosting recipe.  But here's how I do it:


Use about one stick of butter for every dozen cupcakes.  Beat the butter until it is fluffy.  Pour in powdered sugar until it looks really dry, then start adding cream.  Go back and forth between sugar and cream until it looks like enough.  Then add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  And make it a pretty color, for funsies.  Om nom nom.  Nom.