It might have been just a happy accident (read …. leftovers of vanilla cake and chocolate frosting…), but the combination of vanilla and chocolate is pretty amazing.
I like chocolate so much, that I built a whole business around it, but sometimes it’s just nice not to have everything with chocolate.
That’s why I think this combination of vanilla cupcakes and chocolate frosting really works. The chocolate frosting is rich and the vanilla sponge calms things down a bit.
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Few tips on baking these cupcakes successfully
Don’t skip the tiny pinch of salt in both the vanilla batter and the chocolate frosting. Sugar is a bit of a funny ingredient, the flavour is very flat and if you want to bring all the ingredients together (flavour wise) you need to use salt or spices.
If you want your chocolate frosting to be extra chocolatey, don’t skip the 1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee granules. It’s my favourite trick with chocolate. It always intensifies the chocolate flavour, but it doesn’t taste of the coffee.
Use the best vanilla extract you have. Some people think that vanilla is a bit of boring flavour, but if you use a good quality Madagascar Vanilla Extract the vanilla flavour is amazing.
This cupcake recipe is my favourite recipe to use for most flavoured cupcakes. It uses the same amount of butter, sugar and self-raising flour, which makes these cupcakes slightly firmer than perhaps shop bought ones.
Ingredients
For the vanilla cupcakes
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 150 g caster sugar
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- tiny pinch of fine salt
For the chocolate buttercream
- 150 g unsalted butter – softened
- 300 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- tiny pinch of fine salt dissolved in the water
- 1 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules dissolved in the water
INSTRUCTIONS
Vanilla Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 160C (Gas Mark3) and line your muffin tin with cupcake (muffin size) cases.
Beat the butter and sugar together with electric mixer or handheld electric whisk, until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, beating well between each addition.
Add the vanilla flavouring and a tiny pinch of salt.
Using a spatula add the flour to the mixture very carefully mixing until just combined.
Use large spoon to evenly distribute the mixture between the cupcake cases. Fill each cupcake case up to about 2/3 to allow the cupcakes to raise in the oven.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes until lightly brown – check your cupcakes by inserting a wooden skewer into the centre of one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean, then the cupcakes are ready.
Allow to cool on a wire rack and then decorate with the chocolate buttercream.
Chocolate Frosting (buttercream)
Put the butter, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a deep bowl and mix together with an electric whisk (or electric mixer) – start on slow speed to prevent the sugar going everywhere.
Boil kettle and mix 1/4 teaspoon of coffee granules, a tiny pinch of salt with 1 tablespoon of hot water. Wait until it cools down before adding it to the buttercream.
Add the coffee and salt water to the buttercream and carry on mixing.
Carry on for about 5 minutes until buttercream becomes a little paler, light and fluffy.
Use a piping bag or just a palette knife to spread buttercream on the cupcakes.
NOTES
This recipe makes about 10-12 cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake cases)
Vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting
Ingredients
For the vanilla cupcakes
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 150 g caster sugar
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- tiny pinch of fine salt
For the chocolate buttercream
- 150 g unsalted butter – softened
- 300 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- tiny pinch of fine salt dissolved in the water
- 1 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules dissolved in the water
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 160C (Gas Mark3) and line your muffin tin with cupcake (muffin size) cases.
- Beat the butter and sugar together with electric mixer or handheld electric whisk, until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, beating well between each addition.
- Add the vanilla flavouring and a tiny pinch of salt.
- Using a spatula add the flour to the mixture very carefully mixing until just combined.
- Use large spoon to evenly distribute the mixture between the cupcake cases. Fill each cupcake case up to about 2/3 to allow the cupcakes to raise in the oven.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes until lightly brown – check your cupcakes by inserting a wooden skewer into the centre of one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean, then the cupcakes are ready.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack and then decorate with the chocolate buttercream.
Chocolate Frosting (buttercream)
- Put the butter, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a deep bowl and mix together with an electric whisk (or electric mixer) – start on slow speed to prevent the sugar going everywhere.
- Boil kettle and mix 1/4 teaspoon of coffee granules, a tiny pinch of salt with 1 tablespoon of hot water. Wait until it cools down before adding it to the buttercream.
- Add the coffee and salt water to the buttercream and carry on mixing.
- Carry on for about 5 minutes until buttercream becomes a little paler, light and fluffy.
- Use a piping bag or just a palette knife to spread buttercream on the cupcakes.
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