Cupcakes

photo of my cremesicle cupcakes from the Brooklyn Kitchen Cupcake challenge by Cathy Erway, Not Eating Out In New York

One of my favorite things to bake is cupcakes.  Everyone loves cupcakes and, seriously, they are perfect for nearly every occasion.

For the past few years I have been making cupcakes based on Amy Sedaris' recipe in I Like You - with a few of my own special additions.

Here is her recipe for pretty basic, always tasty, vanilla cupcakes:

1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups of sugar

Beat well, then add:

Add 2 large eggs
2 Teaspoons of pure vanilla
½ teaspoon of salt
2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
2 ½ cups of flour
1 ¼ cups of milk

Beat well, fill cups, and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. You should get 24. I get 18, 'cause I'm doing something wrong.

I love this for a basic recipe - I've added orange oil in addition to the vanilla to make a Cremesicle taste, I've added cocoa powder to make them chocolaty.  I almost always make them mini - I have found that a gal who "couldn't possibly" eat a regular size cupcake will often eat three or four of the small ones.  Calories count less in small doses, I suppose?  The possibilities are really endless.

You can read her recipe a for butter cream frosting here. Me? I make a frosting with Mascarpone cheese, a little heavy cream and a couple of secret ingredients.

I know cupcakes are totally hip and trendy these days - there are bakeries dedicated solely to them and Martha did a show (OK, a whole week!) all about them.  But why spend $4 and up on one little cupcake when you can have the fun and satisfaction of making your own - any way you want?