Homemade Yellow Cupcakes

I must start out by being honest here; I've never really been a big cupcake person...

gasp! 

I know.

The only time I will really make them or even eat them is for a birthday party or event, but other than that I don't really think twice about them.

A few weeks ago however, my two boys were begging to bake cupcakes.

I honestly have no idea where it came from, but we were going to have family night and that's what they wanted for the dessert that evening.

I hardly ever have a box of cake mix on hand, which is what I would normally use to just make them and get it over with, so we turned to Pinterest and found a recipe to try.

We’ve made some tweaks to the original, and they turn out pretty dang delicious every time! 

Since we had a success, and we usually have all of the ingredients on hand, these have been added to our 'we will make again!' category.

I've got some pictures showing you the process for making these cupcakes, and the ingredients and detailed directions are at the bottom of the post.

You'll start out by mixing your dry ingredients.

 Separate two eggs, make sure to not get any yolk in the whites.

Beat butter then add sugar.

 Beat the egg whites until stiff.

 Alternately add dry ingredients then wet ingredients to the butter, then fold in the egg whites.

 Fill muffin tins with batter.

Only fill a little more than half way.

 Bake.

 Remove from tin, once cupcakes have completely cooled decorate however you'd like!

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 large eggs, yolks and whites seperated

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened

3 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. milk (we had 2% on hand)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Next beat the butter for about 1 minute (until creamy). Add the sugar and beat until it is well combined.
With a handheld or stand mixer, beat the 2 egg whites on high for about 2 minutes (or until soft peaks form). Set aside.
Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture and continue beating. Scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Turn the mixer to low. While it is running, take your milk and dry ingredient mixture (flour, baking powder, and salt), and add it alternating to the sugar/butter mixture. Make sure you start with the dry ingredients.

Once those have been added, fold the egg whites in using a spatula.

Do not over mix everything.

Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for about 16-20 min,

You want the tops to spring back when you press down slightly.

Cool in the pan for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Frost and enjoy!

I've used chocolate frosting, vanilla buttercream, etc.
These will go perfectly with lots of different flavors!
This is the chocolate frosting recipe I've used in the past. 

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 Tbsp. milk

For the frosting

*The frosting can be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge in an air-tight container.

Using a mixer, beat the butter on high until creamy. Turn down the speed and add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix until well combined. Turn the speed to medium and add the vanilla and milk. Turn the speed up to high for about 1 min. If you would like the frosting thicker you can add some more powdered sugar.

Frost cooled cupcakes and you're good to go!

I've got a time lapse video for you below of how I made some monster cupcakes.

I made a vanilla buttercream frosting and used marshmallows and M&M's to make the faces.

Enjoy :)