by Katie
Image credit: me. (Relatedly: my office is very pleased that I write for Foodlush)
Look, I'm not going to front: while I very much enjoy baking from scratch, sometimes what I really want in a cupcake is the kind you get from a box -- light, sweet, and super moist. And many homemade cupcake recipes just do not fit the bill. They're too dry, or too dense, or too high-falootin' with their fancypants flavors. Just give me delicious yellow cake like the kind that comes from a box promising "pudding in the mix," okay?
Except... have you looked at the ingredients list on one of those box mix cakes recently? Kind of alarming.
Good thing I have this recipe, then. This recipe makes perfect yellow cupcakes that have that tried-and-true cake mix flavor and texture without any of the unpronounceable ingredients you'd find in your average box cake.
(Note: if you don't have a kitchen scale yet, seriously: get one. It makes recipes like this much easier, and much more precise (no measuring cups to wash!) But because I know not everyone has a kitchen scale, I've included the ingredients in both formats.)
Fluffy Yellow Cake
Makes 24 cupcakes or 2 9-inch rounds
2 1/2 cups (10 oz) cake flour (yes, cake flour is important here. All purpose will work, but texture will suffer).
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided (12.25 oz total)
10 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 cup of buttermilk, at room temp
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
6 large egg yolks, at room temp
3 large egg whites
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz) sugar and mix together.
3. Whisk together butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and egg yolks. (This works much better if the ingredients are at room temperature and the butter has cooled- otherwise it can get clumpy. I just whisk it all together in the large measuring cup I use for the buttermilk- one less dish!)
4. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer or the whisk attachment of a stand mixer until starting to get foamy (about 30 seconds). With the machine running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup (1.75 oz) sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form (this can take anywhere from 30 to 90 seconds). Transfer the egg whites to a bowl and set aside.
5. Put dry ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer. With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the wet mixture (it should take at least 15 seconds to pour all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients). Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl. Then turn the mixture to medium low and mix until fully incorporated (10-15 seconds).
6. Gently stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula. Then carefully fold in the remaining whites in 2 batches. Don't overmix, but make sure no white streaks remain.
7. Pour the batter into 2 9-inch round cake pans or 24 muffin tins lined with paper liners. Bake 20-22 minutes for cake pans, 16-18 minutes for cupcakes, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking time. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto racks. Frost with your favorite frosting. (I use the Magnolia Bakery recipe, below)
Magnolia Bakery Frosting
(note: this recipe makes a LOT of frosting. Good for a layer cake, way more than you need for cupcakes. I usually only make 3/4 of a recipe for cupcakes and still have plenty left over.)
1 cup butter, softened
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
Food coloring of choice (I use these, obviously)
Place butter in the mixing bowl. Beat it for a few seconds to break up the stick shape. Add 4 cups powdered sugar and the milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add additional sugar, one cup at a time, until frosting reaches the correct consistency.
