So if you wanna make a good cupcake...

I promised a few posts back that I would finally do a post on baking, so here it is! I'll be giving you some tips on making some really yummy vanilla bean cupcakes!

So if you want to make a good cupcake...you have to start with the right ingredients!!! You may be able to get away with last season's hot fashions, but not in the baking world. Start with fresh, quality ingredients. That's rule number one. Rule number two...well I'm not sure if I've gotten that far yet. Let's keep going...

Gather up your ingredients before you start. Also be sure to have some disposable pastry bags and cupcake liners on hand. Here's a link for a tasty recipe from FoodandWine.com to print off and follow. It's a version of pastry chef Bill Yosses's signature dessert at Citarella Restaurant in New York City (oh, how I love New York!!). NOTE: This batter needs to chill for at least 8 hours before baking, so plan accordingly (other recipes are available for vanilla bean cake which don't require chilling, but this one is divine because of the white chocolate!). Also keep in mind, this recipe is for a vanilla bean cake (not cupcakes), so you will have to amend the time and temperature accordingly. Cupcakes bake much faster than a whole cake, so I would say to set your oven lower at 350 degrees, and bake between 15-18 minutes or so depending on your oven. You definitely don't want to over-bake these little gems, so when a toothpick inserted into the center of a few come out clean, that's your cue. 

Here's the BIG SECRET:  This recipe calls for vanilla beans. Don't cheat and use vanilla extract! Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans are the most expensive, but also the tastiest, so if you want a really good cupcake, splurge! Live a little! Vanilla beans can run you anywhere from $7-$12 for just one or two beans, but the end result is so good you will never go back to the imitation stuff. Ok...maybe if you're short on nickels one week you might, but you'd probably be digging in between the cushions or cracking open your little piggy bank to scrounge up some money to buy these once you've tasted them. You wouldn't just give up without a fight. Here's a TIP:  If you don't want to take the time to cut open and scrape the vanilla beans down the pod, use vanilla bean paste instead (see a picture of the jar above). It's quicker, slightly less expensive because you get more uses from the jar, and still tastes great (although you can not deny the aroma of a freshly cut vanilla bean). Pure bliss!

Now it's time to start mixing up your ingredients! Don't over beat as cupcakes can flatten after baking if there are too many air bubbles in the batter. Beat on low to medium low for a couple of minutes. Immediately spoon batter into each paper cup and put in oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes (each oven will vary) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over-bake or your cupcakes will dry out quickly. 

Pull them out of the oven when done and allow to cool completely before you frost them...you will wind up with liquid icing dripping off of your cupcakes if you try to decorate them while they're hot...and you don't want that unless that's just the look you're going for. But we're going for tasty and pretty, so wait until they are completely cool before you start the fun stuff.

Here's another TIP...make your OWN frosting! Skip the store-bought stuff and whip up your own in minutes. Click here for a yummy vanilla bean frosting recipe created by Susan Spungen for "O at Home" magazine. It should be on the stiff side so if you find this not to be the case, add about 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar at a time until it seems right (still soft, but able to hold a swirl without losing it's form).

Now to my favorite part!! Grab one of those pastry bags you should have handy (remember, I told you to get one before you started?).   :)   Keep it simple...snip about an inch off of the tip (you don't need an icing tip or a coupler or anything!). Fold the top of the pastry bag down into a cuff and fill it about 2/3 of the way full of frosting. Undo the cuff and twist the bag around at the top...you're almost ready to go. Squeeze a little of the frosting out and back into the bowl to release the air bubbles. 

Hold the pastry bag firmly in your hand as you wrap and hold the twist between your thumb and index finger to keep it from coming out of the top. Ready? Starting from the outside and working in and upward, apply a steady pressure as you "swirl" the frosting upwards to form a peak. Voila! You did it!! Ok, so it may not look that great the first time you do it, but practice makes perfect, so do practice on a piece of parchment or wax paper first if you need to. Anything you do can be easily scraped up and put back into your bowl. Your cupcake should look something like this (and if it doesn't, at least it will taste good!):

Happy baking!