Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes.

I found these cupcakes hidden away in Metalia's really up to date cooking blog. These things need to see the light of day and be made in every home across America. This is a true cupcake. Metalia's instructions are a little different, because she's probably not as anal retentive about her baked goods as I am.

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Just as a warning before you make these and decide to inhale them all on your own one lonely night whilst watching America's Next Top Model, I did the math, each cupcake comes out to have 6 TABLESPOONS of sugar and 2.5 TABLESPOONS of butter in each one.
So yes, they're good. But pace yourself.

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Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

1.5 cups self-rising flour
1.25 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



(Hi, one more thing before we get started, since these cupcakes are basically sugar and butter with a hint of vanilla, please please please use the best butter you can find and use only real vanilla. The OCD baker in me thanks you. I use Plugra, a European brand of butter I get at Trader Joe's and I only use Molina Mexican vanilla which I buy from this site. Totally worth it. Moving on...)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.



In a small bowl, whisk the 2 flours together. Set aside. Add the vanilla to the milk in a large measuring cup. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until combined and fluffy, about 5 minutes (Be sure to stop and scrape the bowl thoroughly several times while beating).





Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl well after each addition. After all the eggs have been added batter should still be quite fluffy and evenly textured.



Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the flour and the milk. (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour, milk) Again, be sure to scrape the bowl very well and completely before continuing or the cupcakes will not bake evenly because some will have more butter and burn while others may have more egg and they will fall.



Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. (Should and will make exactly 24.)



Bake for 20–25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through for even color. Cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick comes out clean. Be aware they are very pale, so if they begin to brown they may be overdone.



Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack. (Completely people, don't get impatient.)



Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar (I end up using about 7.5, you'll need less in a drier climate, more in a humid climate.)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Food coloring (Unless you are using white vanilla I suggest food coloring or your frosting will have a funny tint. Gel colorings work the best without messing with texture.)

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla. Start out slow with an electric mixer until sugar is incorporated and work up to medium speed, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes (There still may be a few lumps depending on the temperature of your milk and butter to begin with, this is okay.)



Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for two minutes on high after each addition, until the frosting is smooth (if it looks grainy keep adding sugar by half cups until it appears smooth.) Add the food coloring before your last cup of sugar so you can compensate if it throws off your texture. And don't forget to scrape often and well.



Frost liberally.



Seriously, if you're going to make these, make them right and simply slather them with a huge pile of frosting. They are best when eaten the day they are made so go out and make some neighbors happy. (Keep any uneaten ones tightly lidded in the fridge.)