February 3, 2010

Vanilla (Actually Almond) Cupcakes

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem




In honor of the sweetest, tiniest bundle of love and joy that I've ever seen (nope, no babies here...a dear friend delivered a *tad* bit early, she was 2lbs at birth!) I wanted to make something sweet. Something tender, delicate and very girl was in order. Our usual cupcakes just wouldn't do and so I went about searching for a simple yet sweet vanilla cupcake. After reading many reviews I finally decided Billy's Vanilla cupcakes (from the acclaimed bakery) would do and only after pre-heating the oven and getting all my ingredients together did I realize I had no vanilla! A quick swap for almond extract and the day was saved, alhamdulillah.

Even after the substitution these cupcakes maintained a subtly sweet crumb, nothing that makes you want to run to the nearest toothbrush, yet still sweet enough to hit the spot. I agree with other reviews that you need to keep a careful eye on these and take them out as soon as your tester comes out clean to avoid over baked and dry cupcakes. Can't wait to try these with vanilla next time!





Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes


Ingredients (~30 cupcakes)

  • 1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour
  2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat
  3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.


7 comments:

  1. Awww ur soo sweet, mashallah!! And how is the babyyy? Nd omggg! This is sooooo awesomeeee! I think my sister would be sooooo happyyyy! Jazakillah for sharing sisterrr! =) I really like your blog!!!! It's really nice, mashallah! =) Btw, i have that same kind of glass too!! haha. =D

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  2. As- Salaam Alaaykum. Yummy. My question: do u have any dessert recipes that uses a sugar sub. like Agave, honey or stevia and if so do u think the recipe will turn out just as good as one with the reg. sugar

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  3. Those look very nice...did you ''pipe'' the icing on for the ones in the pictures? It's a great effect..very pretty.

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  4. I actually have an issue with running out of things - I stock up too much in order to avoid it. Still it happens sometimes, but not often. But my cupboard is crammed full. Looks like things turned out very nicely anyway and as you say, you can try vanilla another time.

    InshAllah baby and family are doing well.

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  5. Baby is doing well, masha'allah tabarakAllah. Thanks to everyone asking! Muslimah93: I guess we both got pretty good taste huh;)

    Muslimat MagaZeen: the only sugar substitute I've worked with was Splenda and only b/c of a diabetic friend.I wasn't too happy with those results though and haven't ever tried anything else besides good ol'sugar. Sorry to not be of much help in that regard!

    Ms.M: yes,i did pip them! I couldn't find my usual fat tip and opted for a smaller, baby-friendly swirl instead :)

    Anon: I should really try your philosophy - at least with the imporant things anyways! I'm in desperate need of cinnamon and vanilla at the moment ... how bad am I??

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  6. Salaam!!! I wanted to make this but i dont have cake flourrr! What is that? And can i use all purpose flour instead?? =)

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  7. walaikum salaam! yes, you can substitute with all purpose...I do all the time!

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Tell me what you think! As always, feedback and reviews are appreciated...happy cooking!