vanilla butter cupcakes

I decided to join a cupcake challenge.  Tonight I baked my cupcakes and tomorrow I will be decorating them to go with the week one challenge ~ strawberries.  My Littles are looking forward to decorating their own cupcakes too!

Vanilla Butter Cupcakes
2 stick unsalted butter (1/2 pound)  ~ at room temperature
1 3/4 cups vanilla sugar
4 large eggs ~ at room temperature
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and place 24 cupcake liners in 2-12 cup muffin tins.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.  Add vanilla to the milk and set aside.  In a large bowl cream butter and slowly add vanilla sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Continue beating and add eggs 1 at a time.  Keep mixing the batter adding 1/3 of the milk mixture then 1/3 of the flour mixture.  Repeat until all ingredients are combined. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 22-28 minutes.

-Since this was a cake recipe I turning into cupcakes there was a little batter left.  I coated a small baking dish with no-stick cooking spray, poured in the remaining batter, and baked it in the oven for 33 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit.

-The recipe could easily be halved or quartered. 

-If you don't have cake flour you can make it by sifting flour and cornstarch together.  Measure a cup of flour and then remove 2 Tablespoons of the flour and add it back to the bag. Pour the flour into your sifter and add 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch.  This recipe calls for 3 cups of cake flour so do this 3 times.  Now you sift the mix together 4 times.  When you are done sift it another 2 times just to be sure it is sifted together.

-If you don't have baking powder you can make it with 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 4 teaspoons cream of tarter, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Use a whisk to mix it together very well and measure off the amount you need.  Store the remaining in an air tight container.

Now I'm going to eat some of my little cake with the last jar of strawberry cranberry juice jam I made last year.