White Chocolate Buttercream with Vanilla Cupcakes
One of my oldest friends (and by old, I mean the length of time we’ve been friends…not age) enjoys a particular kind of cake for her birthday: white cake with blue frosting. This birthday cake is traditionally prepared by another of our dear friends, Elpoo. It’s always sweet and yummy and decorated in some clever way. Here’s a cake she made for my own birthday:
For this particular festive gathering, however, cupcakes were requested. Well, we all know that I have been elected (appointed?) the designated maker of the cupcakes, so the honour of baking for this occasion fell to me. My signature cupcake is chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting. In a feeble attempt at meeting the white and blue requirements, though, I did my best to whip up a batch of homemade cake batter and a version of my favourite buttercream recipe.
The cake was…meh. The recipe was taken directly from a Cooks Illustrated recipe, with a few minor tweaks. It was simple enough but honestly, a store-bought mix with some delicious additions (sour cream, melted butter, vanilla…mmmmm) would have been better. I found the crumb slightly tough and a little dry, but I don’t think that was all due to possibly overbaking them. Regardless, I’ll spare you the recipe.
Our focus instead shall be the frosting. After all, isn’t a cupcake really nothing more than a vehicle to convey said frosting to mouth? All silky and buttery and sweet and rich. Perfection. For those that enjoy reading about such sweet things, please join me on this educational jaunt into the world of frosting as we explore four tasty variations of buttercreams: