A moist and tender basic vanilla cupcake made extra flavorful with vanilla bean infused cream. Topped off with vanilla bean buttercream, these cupcakes are vanilla heaven!
Pour the cream into a small saucepan. If using a vanilla bean:using a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean in half, scrape out the seeds, and put everything into the saucepan with your cream.If using vanilla paste, simply pour into the cream and stir to combine.
¾ cup (180mL) whole1 milk or cream, 1 whole vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
Heat the cream over low heat until it just starts to steam. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, remove the pods with a fork or tongs. Cream is now ready to use. If you used vanilla paste, it is ready to use after the 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line the wells of a 12-count cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
1 and ⅔ cups (200g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer3 or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the melted butter, sugar, egg, yogurt, infused cream, and vanilla extract on medium to high speed until completely smooth.
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg, ¼ cup (61g) full fat1 yogurt or sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Reduce the mixer speed to low, then slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined. Then, fold gently by hand with a large spatula and press out any large lumps of flour that remain by scraping them against the side of the bowl. Small lumps are ok.
Fill the cupcake liners ⅔ to ¾ of the way full with batter. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
FROSTING
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
With the mixer on low, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla (either the seeds scraped from the pod, paste, or extract), and milk or cream. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. If frosting is too stiff, add more milk. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Add salt to taste.
4 to 5 cups (480-600g) powdered sugar, ¼ to ⅓ cup (60-80mL) milk or cream, 1 whole vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt
Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag or a large zip top bag with the corner snipped off. Cupcakes will stay fresh covered at room temperature up to 3 days. Store in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Cupcakes freeze well, frosted or unfrosted, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Notes
Full fat dairy: it is imperative to use full fat dairy in this recipe for moisture, since we’re using melted butter, therefore removing some natural moisture.
Room temperature ingredients: these are always a good idea when using room temperature butter as it makes for easier incorporation into the batter. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
Mixer: I've had repeated success making these cupcakes in a bowl without a mixer, which is my preferred method for this cupcake batter.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.