Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

I’m on a mission to find the recipe for the perfect wedding cake! As I’ve mentioned before, I will be making the cake for my brother’s wedding in December.  So, I have started making some sample cupcakes for my brother and future sister-in-law so that they can pick the flavors for their wedding cake!

This will be my first wedding cake.  We haven’t decided on the shape/style of the cake yet, but I wanted to try to find some cake recipes that will hold up well to being stacked.  So, for my first attempt, I decided to work on my pound cake recipe a bit.  I’m a huge fan of the vanilla bean paste that I bought at Williams-Sonoma a little while ago, so I added some of that to the batter instead of using vanilla extract. I love the flavor and the little flecks of vanilla bean are so pretty!

For the frosting, I decided to try my hand at some Swiss meringue buttercream. I’ve heard great things about it, so I had to give it a try.  I found various recipes online, and ended up choosing this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I just trust Deb more than Martha… Plus, her recipes and posts are so much more entertaining to read! The only change I made to the recipe was to substitute vanilla bean paste for the vanilla extract.

The pound cake turned out well, as I expected, but we’re not sure if that will be the winning cake recipe or not!  I absolutely *loved* the Swiss meringue buttercream, but my hubby wasn’t as much of a fan. I like it because it’s not overly sweet, and strangely enough, that’s what he wasn’t so thrilled about. He wanted the icing to be a bit heavier and sugary. My brother and his fiancee were pretty happy with it, though.

I’m not sure if you can add some powdered sugar to the Swiss buttercream to make it a bit less buttery and a bit more sugary. I might play around with it a bit.  If you have any tips, I’d love to hear them!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

(Yields 18 cupcakes)

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 pound sugar (approximately one cup)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 pound all purpose flour (approximately 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream (via Smitten Kitchen) – the 9-inch cake recipe will make the right amount of frosting for the cupcakes, with a little bit left over

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two muffin pans with paper cupcake cups and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat on medium speed until the mixture is creamed and looks light and fluffy.  Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until each egg is incorporated.  Add the vanilla bean paste and beat to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In another small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream.  Gradually add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beating on a low speed. Be sure to start and end with the dry ingredients.  Once the last of the dry ingredients have been added, beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until the batter is smooth.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cups, filling each cup approximately 2/3 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched lightly with your finger.  Cool in the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Prepare the Swiss meringue buttercream according to the recipe over at Smitten Kitchen.  As I mentioned earlier, I subbed 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste for the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe swirls of the buttercream onto the top of each cupcake, and enjoy!