Cupcakes a la NYC

Easy to make, easy to eat!

Once you get past the novelty and nostalgia of eating cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery in the West Village (or in any of the branches that have cropped up all over town, for that matter), your taste buds would promptly determine how sickeningly sweet the little cakes are.

That said, the cloying qualities of said sugar bombs have not stopped me from reaching for one every now and then. It's the sweet equivalent of craving KFC—unadulterated and greasy—when nothing else would hit the spot.

I recently stumbled upon a Magnolia-esque bakeshop at the Chelsea Market called Eleni's, where I got to order a vanilla cupcake covered in chocolate buttercream frosting. Their version is sweet enough (not too much), creamy, and perfectly portioned for the walk from the store to the subway. It was definitely a delicious moment...so much so that I continued to fixate on the choco-vanilla combo for two days, prompting me to take the cupcake plunge: I had to make my own.

Mmm...

If you Google "vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting" you will come across similar versions of the recipe I've listed here. There are two major-nice things to note about churning your own sweet treats. One, you know exactly what goes in and you can use premium ingredients (you know how I feel about vegetable shortening, blech!). Two, it's way way cheaper!

Most recipes call for either cake flour or self-rising flour—both of which are easy to substitute with all-purpose flour. For every cup of cake flour you need, combine two tablespoons of cornstarch and AP flour in one measuring cup. To make your own self-rising flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt to one cup of AP flour. The recipe below is a modified version featuring the latter.

More important than the flour you use is actually the method with which you combine the ingredients. As in the case of making any type of fluffy cake, be careful to not overmix the batter. I paraphrase Good Eats host Alton Brown in saying that overbeating the batter produces gluten—the stretchy protein strands that render your finished product chewy  and "not good eats."

Here's an extra-pretty batch!

Cupcakes a la NYC
(a.k.a. Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting)

You'll need:

1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

(You may refer to the original recipe using cake flour here.)


Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan.

2) In a mixing bowl, cream butter, gradually adding sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt (you may also sift this mixture to aerate it). Add flour mixture alternately with milk and flavorings to creamed mixture, beating after each addition until smooth. Do not overmix.

3) Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and finish cooling on racks.

Ready to frost?

Frosting

You'll need:

3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 stick of butter, softened
3-4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
(use more for an extra-chocolatey frosting)

Directions:

Combine in a large bowl, confectioners sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 1-2 minutes until creamy. Add chocolate and beat until well blended. If necessary add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time to reach desired spreading consistency.