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Monday, February 20, 2012

Sour Cream Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

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Cupcakes are probably one of my least favorite desserts. Not in the sense that I'll (ever) turn one down. More like I just love ice cream and cookies more! These cupcakes, however, have started to change my mind about cupcakes (okay, these chocolate ones helped too!).
These baked up perfectly, with flat tops idea for decorating. The texture of the cake is hard to explain. Dense, but not heavy. Moist, but firm. The sweet buttercream was balanced by the tang of the sour cream in the cake.
I mentioned I was sent a bunch of candy to create recipes with, courtesy of Wrigley and Amy Atlas Events. My lemon ice cream cake hardly made a dent in my stash, so I set about to make something else. Although I originally intended to make more Valentine's Day-themed decorations, the shapes of the Skittles and Gummy Lifesavers that I decided to use screamed "Spring flowers" to me. It's no secret that I'm, quite literally, counting down the days to Spring, so I figured I'd prepare for the upcoming season with these cupcakes.
How fun are these? Admittedly, decorating like this is not my forte....so I was pretty pleased with how these turned out. To make "stems" I microwaved a Starburst for about 20 seconds and then rolled it with my hands into the desired shapes. I thought the various flower designs were pretty cute! Regardless of how you decorate these, don't miss out on the sour cream cupcakes!
Sour Cream Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
cupcakes from Food Network, frosting from my sugar cookie cupcakes
*yields about 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:
for the cupcakes-
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-pinch of salt
-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 cup milk
-3/4 cup sour cream (I used low-fat)

for the buttercream- (note-this made enough to spread a thin layer of frosting on each cupcake. If you plan to pipe it on, you'll need to at least double it!)
-1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
-1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tbsp heavy cream

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 16 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides if needed.
4. Add vanilla, milk, and sour cream, mixing to combine. Gradually add flour, mixing just until combined.
5. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 of the way with batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
6. To make the frosting, beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add vanilla and cream, beating until smooth. Add food coloring if desired.
7. Frost and decorate cooled cupcakes as desired.

This post is linked to Eat at Home.