Vanilla Bean Cupcakes & Elizabeth's Strawberry Filling

CUPCAKES!!! My adorable hubby went to the cooking store all by himself and bought me these adorable liners.  He's so sweet I decided to bake him some sweets.  You always have to start with cute. It's more motivating... and less calories. Definitely less calories.

Now, I typically look for recipes that 1.) have ingredients that I'm craving (ie vanilla bean in this case) and 2.) with most, if not all, of the ingredients I already have on hand. Keep it simple. The less trips to the grocery store the better.

This is what I found (thank you, bustybaker, for sharing! I'll be using this as a base often):

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped 

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Original Post: http://ladolcivita.blogspot.com/2011/04/vanilla-bean-cupcakes.html


1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tin with liners; set aside.
2. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together milk, egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds to combine; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. (Or pulse a few times with mixer to combine.) Add butter, mixing on low until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (It’ll look a bit like the start of pastry dough.)

4. Add half of milk mixture to flour mixture and beat until dough is moist and thick (a bit like cookie dough). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add remaining milk mixture and beat until combined. (Mixture should look more like batter now.)

5. Divide batter among prepared cups, filling with 2 tablespoons of batter each. Bake until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

I also happened to find this AMAZING baking store. Dangerous.  Elizabeth's Cakes in Euless, TX... they have THE BEST filling {among other baking delights} and each huge sleeve is only $5. Get Some.  It's not only great for baking... but in yogurt, used as jam for spreads/cheeses etc etc.   Check them out: http://www.elizabethscakesupplies.com/

So I squirted a bit into the cupcakes. And maybe a little for myself.  A little for the cupcakes. A little for myself. You get the idea. YUM.

I tried a strawberry buttercream frosting (I'm the type of person that always scrapes it off- I'm very picky).  This recipe was from someone else (who will remain nameless, which is why I didn't include the recipe) because I was not impressed.  If you have a recipe you adore for frosting- send it my way!!

Delicious! Thank you bustybaker.  They were devoured instantaneously.  
 

Adapted from Baked by Rachel  And Brought to you by The Busty Baker (http://www.bustybaker.com/)

Makes 12 cupcakes