3 Vanilla Cupcakes

So I'm not very fond of chocolate cake...

I'm always the one person who wants vanilla....

Vanilla is the perfect spice. Actually, its not really a spice because it comes from an orchid. It smells amazing. It's classy. It's delicious. 

Originally native to Mexico, the vanilla pod is exceptionally hard to grow making it the second most expensive spice. (Saffron is the first) When making this recipe I learned a lot about the power of vanilla. 1. You can never have to much vanilla. 2. The little black specs that you see in vanilla ice cream etc are the tiny seeds. 3. Vanilla is amazing. :)

So I decided to make these cupcakes. They are called 3 vanilla because they use vanilla in three different forms: vanilla sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla beans.

First, let's get making the vanilla sugar out of the way because that takes the longest.

-to make vanilla sugar all you have to do is store however much sugar you need for the recipe in an airtight container with about 2 vanilla beans split in half. Store for a few days and the sugar will absorb the vanilla. 

This is my vanilla sugar

Make sure you scrape out all the seeds in the pod. Those are all you need for the frosting and cupcakes. 

Yesssss

Here's the recipe:

Cupcake Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-2/3 cups vanilla sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2-2/3 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

Instructions:  

1. 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.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla 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. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

For the frosting:

 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) philly cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
-4-5 cups powdered sugar

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Add the vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, and 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like.

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