Dating someone new means meeting all sorts of new people.
Listen… I know I’m getting old and this isn’t my first jump into meeting the groups of friends, the work buddies, the casual friends, the bosses, the grandma, or the adopted dog of the strapping young gent that I’m dating. Sadly, all this experience has made me no less awkward and devoid of grace. I have a tendency towards embarrassing sweat, stuttering and knuckle cracking that is less than charming… Or! I just talk about my kitten, or the family dog, or this giant white rabbit that attacked me in 4th grade and no one believed me but it TOTALLY happened… and then I just leave other people feeling weird… and it’s all just awkward.
Anyhow! I’ve devised two personal tactics to detract from such boneheaded behavior: wear a pretty dress and heels and always bring cupcakes (or cookies or brownies or granola… or pie). This way, I feel pretty and I turn into a tall girl… and people instantly love me when I had them a box of chocolate and sugar. It’s a little bit of a dirty trick and it works every time.
Sprinkles? A lifesaver. Who could resist?
These Vanilla Bean Cupcakes are a classic. They’re exactly like every cupcake I ate between the ages of five and nine.
Dense but moist cake with an undeniable vanilla flavor.
They’re sweet. They make me want a balloon animal made for me.
These un-frosted but baked cupcakes also freeze well.
And they taste great right out of the freezer… all hard and cold and gnarly. But that’s not their best use.
They really should be smothered in chocolate buttercream and eaten in mass.
This is absolutely my favorite Chocolate Buttercream recipe. It’s smooth and thoroughly chocolaty, without being stiff and overly sweet like chocolate buttercream can sometimes become. I didn’t invent Chocolate Buttercream. The inspiration comes from a Los Angeles bakery I worked in.
The secret ingredient is Ovaltine powder and heavy cream. If you can’t get your hands on Ovaltine, you might try using hot chocolate mix. Yea. Weird… but totally delicious! Count on it.
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes
from Organic and Chic
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together milk, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. Set aside.
In a stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This may take 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well incorporated.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. If the batter begins to looks a bit curdled, that’s alright.
with the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the vanilla milk mixture in three batches, starting and ending with the flour. When the batter is almost combined, stop the mixer and finish mixing the batter with a spatula, making sure that any flour bits at the bottom of the bowl are well incorporated.
Divide into the lined cupcake pan and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely before frosting.
The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes or one 8-inch layer cake
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Ovaltine
Cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar. Turn mixer on low and mix in powdered sugar while adding milk and vanilla extract. As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth. In a 1-cup measuring glass, stir together heavy cream and Ovaltine. Turn mixer speed to medium and pour cream mixture into frosting in a slow, steady stream, until you’ve reached your desired consistency. You may not need the full amount of Ovaltine and cream. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes. Yuuuuuuuuum!!
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What a giant rabbit attacked you? Oh well, never mind… I’ll make a balloon animal for you for posting these cute yummy temptations. Nice blog I’m really having a great time! :)
It’s clear that you could rule the world with this trick. Brilliant!
hi joy! you are my new fave blog for so many reasons (recipes, photos, humor, to name a few). just thought you should know that. :)
i made your best chocolate buttercream today. it’s got a great texture and spreads like a dream! i could only find chocolate malt ovaltine and it made the frosting taste a bit salty. next time i make it, i’ll either leave out the salt or ovaltine and see how that goes. thanks for sharing your yummy recipes — i’m so happy i found your blog!
ok, so the person i made the cake with your best chocolate buttercream called me the other day to let me know how they liked the cake. she said the salty taste must have been in my head, cos she tasted nothing but sweet, delicious chocolate frosting. in fact, she said she usually picks the frosting off her cake and leaves it on the plate (i know, i know. i may have to stop speaking to her) but this time she ate every last bite of it. thanks again, joy!
I just made these! The buttercream is the best chocolate frosting I’ve ever had! Totally worth the big container of ovaltine I had to buy to make it. The cupcakes are good as well, but I’m not sure if I did something wrong. I know they use butter instead of oil, but they were very crispy and buttery on the outside. Do yours turn out the same way? Some were even almost too oily. I did double the recipe to make a bunch for a bake sale so maybe that’s why they were a little funny. Do you have any tips for doubling the recipe? Should I have cut back on the butter?
I’m quite ready to try this Ovaltine trick for buttercream frosting. As I just finished my first wedding bake-a-thon over the weekend (144 buttercream topped cupcakes and one 8-inch layer cake completed), buttercream has been on the brain. And on the clothes. And in the hair. I’m definitely going to whip up a batch of this recipe as soon as I can. Maybe I’ll take a pretty cake to my in-law’s house for Christmas or something.
You make dating sound like fun…kinda wish I had tried it :(
This buttercream frosting is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so good :)
Oh man I need one (or 6) of those right now!!
I just made these cupcakes and I must say, they’re delicious! I made a vanilla buttercream as I was making them for a friend who didn’t want anything chocolate. I added red jimmies and put them in red liners for the Chiefs vs. Ravens game today :)
YUM! You are right….no one can resist a girl who brings chocolate and sugar! Good call.
so, joy…..
i had a minor meltdown moment (in a good way) when i went to central market the other day and saw that, FINALLY, blood oranges are in season. and what would i do with blood oranges? BLOOD ORANGE CUPCAKES. and what would i top them with?
CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM. that’s where you come in. this chocolate butter cream was SO PERFECT for these cupcakes. i snuck a little orange extract into the mix instead of vanilla and it was a match made in cupcake heaven.
thanks!!!!
So, made this chocolate buttercream this afternoon. I imagined how it would taste, then it tasted even better. Wow. This will be my go-to frosting from now on! Thanks!
I just made these cupcakes and as I had predicted by the crazy amount of eggs it required, tasted like scrambled eggs in cake form. Not very appetizing. I followed the recipe exactly, and I don’t understand why it tastes so overly egg-y. There are much better Vanilla cupcake recipes out there, I’m surprised this one was chosen.
Simply fabulous. These are scrumptious cupcakes and the icing is a dream. Thank you so much!
I love making deserts and I can almost do any dessert except for cakes (they always turn out flat :( ). However, I really wanted to do something different and completely homemade for my friend’s bday party. So I gave these a try and they were really wonderful. I didn’t make the same frosting as I didn’t have Ovaltine at the time but the cakes turned out really “Fab” so thank you Joy sooooooo much. Wonderful recipe ^_^
Hi Joy,
I only have whipping cream, not heavy cream. Will this work in this recipe for frosting cupcakes for my son’s party- today! ;)
If you can reply asap I would appreciate it!
I made these cupcakes tonight to go with some chocolate fudge buttercream I had left over from another project, and they are a delight. My husband proclaimed them his favorite vanilla cupcake ever. Thank you! I love the blog.
Nice cupcakes. They look so delicious and pretty! Thanks for sharing a very nice inspiration.
Wow! These cupcakes definitely are the best ever! Simple but so yummy! Thank you!!!!
“Yum! It looks like a Dunkaroo.”
-My husband (That’s the best compliment coming from him, I promise)
I just made two trays of these for a birthday party I’m going to … covered’em up in chocolat icing, a few sprinkles, and ta-dam, I’m gonna be popular ! They taste incredible – light and vanilla-y, sweet but not too dense – yes I already ate one.
Thank you for the fabulous recipe ! :)
Hey,
Thank you for sharing this one – they were so so good! So comforting too, packed with a strong vanilla flavor yet not overbearing as vanilla gets sometimes. You are so right about the chocolate buttercream icing – it is the BEST! I am never making chocolate buttercream another way. They definitely complement the awesome vanilla cupcakes :)
I made these for my son’s 1st Birthday party yesterday and they were a hit!! That frosting is the best.
PS. I didn’t have any Olvatine or hot chocoloate mix so I just used a scoop (which is exactly 1/3 of a cup, I checked) of Slim Fast!!
hahaa! slim fast! too funny!
I’ve made many, many of your recipes. I check your website almost every other day. And I’ve never commented until I made this frosting. Joy, you’re a reputation-saver. Whatever you get for doing the blog, it isn’t enough. THANK YOU!
If you’re ever in India and you need medical help, you know who to call. :)
deal!
these are so, so, cute! thanks for the frosting recipe, i just can’t wait to try it!!
I can’t wait to make these! I’m a total fan of Mexican Chocolate, and now one can find it in powdered hot chocolate form instead of the octagon hard discs. Joy, do you think this would work? Thank you for inspiring so many including me!
think powdered Mexican hot chocolate would be totally delicious! give it a go!
Dear Ms. thebaker,
I just wanted to thank you for the frozen cupcake trip. And, yes, they’re super tasty frozen :)
These look amazing…
Thanks for sharing
Stacy @ CreatingSweetSmiles.BlogSpot.com
Silly question… but where can I find vanilla bean at? These look absolutely delicious!
=) first time … i usually go with egg based buttter cream but imn pregger and my sis cant stomach the egg based ones so i started checking for a good normal chocoalte buttercream and lo and behold you turned up… i made it but im pretty sure i did somethign wrong… the buttercream looks kinda curdled !!! its not smooth and as it sits it seems to be seperatng before my very eyes… !! is it cause my cream was cold? My butter ws at room temp but the cream wasnt. could that be it? It tastes yum but im trying to frost with it and it just wont stay and plus the curdling looks terrible … sigh.. pls help !
This was my EXACT problem!! I tried it twice and followed the directions exactly. My butter was room temp but the cream/Ovaltine was chilled, could this where we went wrong? Joy help us please!
Hey Joy,
Do you suppose these could be made into two layer 8″ cakes? I’m planning to make this tomorrow in a cake version. Let me know!
I’m wondering too!
tried these out on monday night with cream cheese frosting- they were the best vanilla cupcakes ive ever made! thank u :O)
Made these tonight. My kids and husband loved it. Thanks
The voice of raitoalnity! Good to hear from you.
So I made this frosting for a cake for my girlfriend’s birthday and the buttercream seemed to “separate” a little (not sure if that’s the right word but it seemed a little grainy). I’m not sure what I did wrong. The flavor itself is divine but the texture is a little off, does anyone know why this might have happened?
Butter can separate if it is over beaten in the mixer, or if too much liquid is added. Once it separates, it doesn’t ever really get normal again. I’m sorry this recipe gave you trouble!
Just made this delicious Chocolate Buttercream Frosting but paired it with the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cupcakes (minus the Cookie Dough since my grandson is allergic to peanuts) Had some of the heavy cream mixed with Ovaltine left over and couldn’t resist tasting it – YUM! Now I’m thinking of whipping the remainder of my cream with more Ovaltine and making chocolate whipped cream to serve with fresh sliced strawberries.
This is probably the best, easiest vanilla cake recipe ever. I have also turned it into a chocolate cake recipe by adding about a cup of cocoa powder :)
Hi Joy
These cupcakes looks fab! I am tempted to use this recipe to bake for my girl friend’s 30th birthday!
Can I please ask you which piping tip do you use to create perfect swirl?
Thanks!
I just tried the frosting, and after reading the comments carefully, I used room-temperature cream and was cautious not to over mix; my frosting still curdled :( any idea why??
YUM! Thanks so much for the recipe! A cupcake lunch never hurt anyone…
I just made these…OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mind is blown! The cupcakes themselves are so delicious but this is by far the best chocolate frosting I’ve ever had! Yummmmmmmmmmm!
Thanks for posting the frosting recipe!! I used malted milk powder instead of Ovaltine, and the frosting was A HIT!!! I used it on chocolate malt cupcakes.
Your cupcakes look so lovely! Last time I made cupcakes they turned out a bit on the harder side….do you know what could’ve went wrong?
I DID IT! I’m not a baker….like ever. EVER. Ironically, I am obsessed with baking/food blogs…really anything with frosting or sparkles. BUT I made these to prove that I could. AND THEY ARE WONDERFUL. I WAS SO SO PROUD. I posted them on my facebook:)
THANKS JOY! You are the bomb.com
were they in a breathable area or were they covered. moisture is what would make them get sticky on top.
BEST. BUTTERCREAM. EVER. Made it tonight for a friend’s birthday surprise tomorrow, and quite frankly, I’m not sure there’ll be anything left by that time!!
If I were going to make these as minis would I need to adjust anything in the recipe or baking time?
These cupcakes are amazing! I have made them 3 times in the last month and they were loved by kids and adults alike. Delicious!
Congrats! This is really mouth watering and indulging too.
Hi Joy, I checked out the ovaltine at the store – there’s “original” and chocolate. Which one do I use?! Maybe it doesn’t matter, but my perfectionist tendencies are hoping for an answer from you! :)
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