Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: A love affair

For UJY who asks for these cupcakes whenever she can and has consumed more of these than anyone I know.

UJY is having a love affair with these cupcakes. She can't get enough of them. She will eat these non-stop. There has only been ONE time I've heard her say, "I'm cupcaked out" and that was the one time I had delivered 26 cupcakes to her house and she ate the lion's share of them. All other times, she will not say no to having these. It's the frosting, the cake, the vanilla bean - all of it. She loves it all. She repeatedly tells me, "I refuse and will not eat cupcakes from anywhere else - only these. These are the only cupcakes I eat." A high compliment. I should name these after her.

Unfortunately I can't take credit for them. I got the cake recipe from my favorite cupcake blog, Cupcake Bakeshop and really, the only thing I've done is up the vanilla bean in the cake as I found a great deal on them and so they aren't AS expensive as buying in a supermarket. To me, those tiny black flecks in my cake are so beautiful and delicious, I can't resist having more of them in the cake. The frosting, vanilla bean cream cheese is also wonderfully gorgeous. It's not overpoweringly sweet so the vanilla sings a lovely note and you can actually taste it, instead of just pure sweetness. The cake itself is simple to make but the vanilla bean elevates it to elegance. These are my go-to cupcakes for bringing to people's homes as well as celebrations at home. Don't miss out, grab them while you can, and have your own love affair.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes (from the Cupcake Bake Shop)
26 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
1. Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
3. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Scrape out the vanilla bean seeds into the milk. (put the remaining pod in a bag of sugar and make your own vanilla sugar. YUM!)
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk vanilla bean mixture and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting (enough for 30 cupcakes)
1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 8oz pack of cream cheese, softened
1 whole vanilla bean, split open with a knife and vanilla beans scraped out (Amazon.com has 16 beans for $15)
3-4 cups confectioner sugar (I try and use as little as I can, but making sure it's pipeable)

Cream butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until texture is uniform. Add 2 cups of confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add 2 more cups and again mix on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add scraped vanilla beans (get every last bit) and mix on medium speed for 8 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides. The key to really creamy frosting is to NOT beat too much air into the frosting but rather, on a medium speed, beat it until it is creamy.

Printable recipe

These are so good...will you be able to share?

This is where I buy my vanilla beans.