Vanilla cupcakes are frosted with a vanilla buttercream frosting to create a vanilla lovers cupcake! I was provided with a copy of  Martha Stewart’s Cakes cookbook, as well as the opportunity to attend a book signing with Martha Stewart.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a book signing at Macy’s home store in Las Vegas with none other than Martha Stewart.  Martha is on a book tour for her brand new Martha Stewart’s Cakes cookbook.  It’s her very first cookbook of cakes and includes bundts, loaves, coffee cakes, layer cakes, cheesecakes, fillings, frostings and more.

It’s hard to believe that Martha Stewart hasn’t ever put out a cake cookbook before! I read cookbooks like novels and was able to sit down with my copy a few days before hand to check it out and loved the great combination of cakes and tips in the book.

I arrived at Macy’s Home Store (on Spring Mountain and Arville for you locals!) early to check in.  There was a nice crowd waiting excitedly to have their books signed.  Martha just casually walked to the book signing area and said hello to the crowd before posing for some photos with her book.  After I had my cookbook signed, I stuck around for a while to watch the crowd and Martha seemed to enjoy interacting with her fans.

I have said it before that baking cakes and cupcakes is not exactly my strong suit in the kitchen.  But my daughter’s 1st grade teacher has a birthday this week and I wanted to bring in a special treat for her and the class, so I put my new cookbook to a test.  Her teacher’s favorite cupcakes are vanilla cupcakes so I went with Martha’s recipe for Vanilla Layer Cake and baked it in to cupcakes.

I decided to frost them with Martha’s basic buttercream frosting.  I did change that recipe up a little by using half butter and half palm shortening and adding almond extract, just as a personal preference.  But I followed the technique described in the recipe to make the frosting and it helped me get a fantastic frosting.

Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting may sound boring, but thanks to Martha Stewart’s Cakes, these will be a new family favorite.

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Yield: 24

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

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Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cakes Cookbok

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• Buttercream Frosting
• 1 1/2 cups butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups palm shortening
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

2. Prehat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12 cup muffins tins with paper liners and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well incorporated.
4. On low speed, mix in flour, salt, and baking powder just until blended.
5. Add in milk and vanilla extract and beat until batter is smooth.
6. Fill muffin tins until just a little over half full.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean. Put cupcakes on cooling racks and allow to cool completely before frosting.
8. For the Buttercream frosting:
9. Beat together butter and shortening until light and fluffy.
10. Add the powdered sugar on low speed, 1/2 cup at a time. After every other addition, beat the frosting on high speed for a few seconds to whip it.
11. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, add the extracts and mix to combine. Frost cupcakes and keep cool as the buttercream can get soft in heat.

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