Martha Stewart's Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes
Dense, yellow, non-crumbly (but not spongy) cupcake recipe
Servings 36
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour (not self-rising) (355 grams)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (190 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (260 grams)
- 2 ¼ cups sugar (450 grams)
- 5 large large whole eggs room temperature
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Icing
- 3 sticks butter, salted or unsalted 12 oz of butter, salted or unsalted (we used unsalted)
- 1 Pinch of salt
- 1 pound sifted powdered sugar (1 box or 3 ¾ cups plus more as needed)
- 1 teaspoon of really good vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 36 standard muffin tins with paper liners.
- Thoroughly mix together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined.
- With a mixing spoon or lowest speed of mixer (we like to do this part by hand), stir in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until mixture is smooth. With the spoon, beat in vanilla.
- Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Add enough cream of whole milk until the frosting has a texture you like.