mini vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting

yesterday i had one of those moments.  the kind of moment where you realize that you have just done something so incredibly stupid and there is no way to undo it.  i was drafting an email which was supposed to be saved for the next day in my "drafts" folder.  however, i was distracted while i was writing the email, and instead of clicking "save now" i clicked "send."

within a split second i realized what i had done.  in an immediate moment of panic, i picked up the phone and called ryan and said: "epic fail."  of course, he knew exactly what i was talking about because he was one of the recipients of the email.  in between laughing at me, he said: "you never put email addresses in the address line of an email that you are drafting, it's a cardinal rule."

i know, i know, i know.  i never do that normally, but i was trying to save myself a few seconds and instead ended up with my great "epic fail" moment of the day.  i ask you, why is there not an "undo" button after you have just sent an email.  can't they at least give you a 5-10 second delay to see if you in fact really meant to click send?  at least i gave everyone in my office a good laugh.  no major harm done i guess.

theses cupcakes however are not an epic fail.  in fact, they are an epic success.  they are golden and buttery.  they are light and fluffy.  they are covered in sweet vanilla buttercream frosting.  they are perfect.  of course, everything is just so much cuter in miniature too.

these mini vanilla cupcakes are a crowd pleaser.  i made them last night while i was wallowing in self pity, and then brought them into work this morning for my co-worker's birthday.  i've mentioned before (here and here) how i am the designated "birthday girl" at work.

so, the next time you need a recipe which is not an epic fail (unlike my email disaster) be sure to try these cupcakes!  they are sure to make you smile and to forget all about whatever you did stupid that day.

mini vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting
prep time: 10-15 minutes
baking time: 15 minutes
yields: 24-26 mini cupcakes

cupcake ingredients:
8 tablespoons salted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup skim milk

frosting ingredients:
4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 cups powdered sugar

directions:
preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line mini cupcake pans with mini cupcake liners.

to make the cupcakes: in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  mix in the vanilla extract.  add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  in a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour and the baking powder.  add half of the sifted dry ingredients to the batter along with 1/4 cup of the milk.  beat well.  add the remaining sifted dry ingredients and the remaining 1/4 cup of the milk.  beat well to combine.  spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each of the mini cupcake liners.  bake for 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.  once baked, allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.  allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

to make the frosting: in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with a whisk attachment.  mix in the milk, the vanilla extract, and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  add more powdered sugar gradually to achieve the consistency of frosting that you desire.  spread the frosting over the cooled cupcakes.

enjoy!

love, laurie