The recipe for the vanilla bean cupcakes is a modified version from CupcakeProject and it is by far the best homemade cupcake recipe I've ever made -- dense, rich, moist and bursting with vanilla bean flavor! The rose frosting and sugared rose petals are something that I whipped up myself. Vanilla and rose are a match made in Heaven. These cupcakes are a definite must for any girly party. P.S. Guys like them too!
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
- 1 cup (225 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 3/4 cups (175 grams) cake flour, not self-rising
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) full-fat sour cream
- 1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable oil (60 ml)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) whole milk
*(I didn’t have whole milk in the fridge, so I substituted with1/3 cup low fat milk and 1/3 cup half and half and the cupcakes turned outperfectly)
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean.
- Rub the vanilla bean seeds and sugar between you fingers, to break up any clumps of seeds and to better infuse the vanilla flavor into the sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the vanilla bean sugar and mix until well combined.
- Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes. Because there is so little butter, you'll end up with a very fine crumb texture.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
- Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined. The batter will be liquid. (Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. It's supposed to be that way.)
- Fill cupcake liners just over 1/2 full.
- Bake for 14 minutes and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it. The cupcakes should appear white with specks of vanilla bean. They should not turn a golden brown. If they are not done, test again in two minutes. If they are still not done, test again in another two minutes.
- When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack (or just on your counter if you don't own a cooling rack) to cool.
Rose Frosting
1 container of vanilla frosting
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup of confectioners sugar
2 drops of red food coloring
3 tablespoons of rose water
This frosting is the super easy cheaters way of making Rose Buttercream Frosting with half the fat. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl on high-speed until smooth and light pink in color. The consistency should be thick enough to hold peaks, but soft enough to easily spread.
Sugared Rose Petals
Preheat oven to 300 F
1 rose or 15 rose petals (I used pink roses)
1 egg white
1/2 cup of sugar (for coating)
Carefully wash and dry about 15 petals. Cut off the hard bottom of each petal (that is the bitter part...not yummy). In a small bowl whisk 1 egg white. Dip each petal one at a time into the egg white and then into the sugar. Be sure to coat the entire petal to protect it from browning in the baking process. Place sugared petals on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or a silpat. Place in the the oven for 35 minutes or until the petals are crispy.
