Buttery Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream
 
 
Fluffy, buttery vanilla cupcakes are topped with a sweet-tart raspberry buttercream made from freeze-dried raspberries.
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
  • 1½ cups cake flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 9 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg + 2 large egg yolks
For the raspberry frosting
  • 38 + 38 g granulated sugar, divided
  • 63 g egg yolks
  • 75 g whole milk
  • 250 g unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces, at room temperature
  • 20 g freeze-dried raspberry powder
Instructions
For the cupcakes
  1. Heat oven to 375F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
  5. Lower mixer to medium speed and add in the whole egg. Then increase the speed back to medium-high for 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer back down to medium speed and add in the yolks. Then turn the mixer back up to medium-high and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape down the bowl again.
  6. Remove stand mixer bowl from the mixer and fold in the dry ingredients in 4 additions, alternating with the buttermilk-vanilla mixture. Mix until just combined.
  7. Scoop the batter into the paper-lined cupcake tin, about ¼ cup in each cup.
  8. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing the cupcakes from their tin. Allow to cool completely.
For the raspberry frosting
  1. Whisk 38 g of the sugar with the egg yolks. Set aside.
  2. Combine the remaining 38 g of sugar with the milk in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Allow the sugar to dissolve. Once the milk mixture is just about to come to a simmer, remove it from the heat and combine it with the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and place it over medium heat. Whisking constantly, bring it to a simmer and allow it to cook for 1 minute or until thickened.
  3. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk for 8 minutes on high speed, or until cool.
  4. Add the butter a few pieces at a time to the egg yolk mixture. Mix on high speed until it thickens and comes together. If it is too loose, then put in the fridge for 30 minutes and beat again.
  5. Add in the raspberry powder and fold it in by hand.
  6. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with the Wilton 1M tip and pipe swirls onto the cupcakes.
Notes
Cupcakes from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook
Frosting adapted from Hint of Vanilla
Recipe by Joanne Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2018/04/buttery-vanilla-cupcakes-with-raspberry-buttercream.html