The Best Basics | Cupcakes & Buttercream Frosting

Even when presented with fancy pants cupcakes, people seem to go back to the basics. As overall crowd pleasers, you usually don't have to worry about whether or not people will eat the cupcakes when they are plain and simple (yet delicious, of course). So here are the best Chocolate Cupcakes and White Cupcakes that I have found so far. They are modified box cake recipes, which originally made me feel a little lazy, but I have since found out that many bakeries do this for their specialty recipes as well. 

They are both very different from each other, aside from only flavor. The chocolate cupcakes recipe is actually taken from bundt cake recipe I probably got from Allrecipes.com. Bundt cakes - at least in my experience - are usually a more dense, rich cake, which is obviously no different in cupcake form. BUT, as I posted in my last cupcake recipe, I like a more muffiny cupcake, so I love the heaviness of this recipe. The white cake recipe is much lighter and fluffier, but still satisfying and very smooth.

The nice thing about these recipes is that you can experiment with different flavored frostings and if you're feelin extra ambitious, different flavored fillings. These cupcakes pictured below were made for my second-cousin, Evan's 1st birthday party (which was clearly baseball-themed). The baseballs were white cake, filled with raspberry jam, topped with almond buttercream. And the grass-colored cupcakes were chocolate cake, filled with a dollop of Nutella, topped with coconut buttercream, and a Tootsie Roll baseball glove. 

You could experiment even more with these cupcakes, filling them with ANY type of pie filling or jam or even peanut butter (!!) for the chocolate cupcakes. There are also maaany many types of extracts out there, ranging from maple and hazelnut to raspberry and lemon.

Start with these solid cupcake recipes and GO CRAZY.

Chocolate Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Devil's Food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix cake mix and chocolate pudding mix. Add sour cream, vegetable oil, beaten eggs, and warm water. Mix well.
3. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Fill cupcake tins 1/2 - 3/4 full. 
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cupcake tops feel springy to the touch.

White Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. White cake mix
• 1 c. flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1-1/3 c. water
• 1 c. sour cream
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 egg whites (3/4 c. "All Whites")

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt. Add water, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg whites. Mix well for 4 minutes.
3. Fill cupcake tins 1/2 - 3/4 full.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cupcake tops feel springy to the touch.

(*Note: cupcake cook times may vary. Usually, I set a timer for 15 minutes and gauge my time from there, keeping a close eye on them until they are finished baking.)

Basic Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1 c. butter, softened (or 1/2 c. butter + 1/2 c. shortening)
• 1 tsp. vanilla (or other extract)
• 5 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4 c. milk

Directions:

1. Cream butter with electric mixer until smooth.
2. Add vanilla and mix well. 
3. Slowly mix in powdered sugar and milk - alternating additions. 
4. Add more milk or powdered sugar depending on desired consistency.

Cranberry Orange Cupcakes

This recipe...is probably my favorite cupcake. EVER. I made some of these for my friend Erica to sample for her wedding cupcakes and I was sold. Orange and cranberry have always been a favorite flavor combination of mine (clearly...this Cranberry Almond Biscotti recipe is my GO-TO recipe - with craisins, orange zest, and almond - YUM).

I like my cupcakes more muffin-y...and these cupcakes do the trick. :) They are sweet, a little tart, and just plain tasty. The best thing about them is that they are pretty easy to make. The original recipe from The Cake Blog was a tinsy bit more complicated, needing a few special ingredients (i.e. cake flour), but I found that you can compromise and these still taste fantastic. 

The Candied Cranberries (optional - although, I do believe they look pretty pretty):

(*Note also: you will have to make these at least one day in advance so that they have time to harden a bit.)

Ingredients:

• 3-3/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1-3/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 orange
• 12 oz. fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. In medium sauce pan, over medium heat, mix together 2-1/2 c. sugar, water, vanilla, and orange zest. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved.
2. Remove pan from heat and add cranberries, stirring to coat evenly.
3. Cover cranberries in pan with a small plate so that the berries are pushed into the syrup. Once cool, refrigerate overnight.
4. Strain the cranberries from the syrup. Use remaining 1-1/4 c. sugar to coat the berries by shaking them in a rimmed dish to coat evenly. Once coated, remove from sugar and let dry on baking trap for at least an hour.

The Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 3 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 c. butter
• 2 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Zest + juice of 1 orange
• 1 c. milk
• 1-1/2 c. fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large bowl, mix flour and baking powder.
3. In separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. 
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
5. Add vanilla, orange zest, and orange juice.
6. Switch off adding milk and the flour mixture until just mixed. Then fold in the cranberries.
7. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 - 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cupcake tops feel springy to the touch.

The Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 c. butter
• 2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp. juice of orange

Directions:

1. Using a mixer, mix butter and cream cheese until smooth. 
2. Add vanilla and orange zest.
3. Gradually add in powdered sugar until the desired consistency has been reached - it may take more or less depending on your personal preference. 

White Bean Chicken Chili & Sweet Cornbread

I was looking for a good white chili recipe and found one from Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network. Aside from looking delicious, coming from Giada, it also meant that it was likely a fairly healthy recipe. (Score.) With a few modifications,  I think this is my new favorite chili recipe.  

When you think of chili, I know that peoples' minds typically go to thick, red, meaty recipes, but I think more people should give white chilis a try, cause this one is a real winner. This chili is full of flavor and spice, and the Swiss chard and fennel add a whole new dimension. It's just good stuff is what it is. 

Pair some sweet cornbread with a big bowl and you've got yourself one tasty meal.

The Chili

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2 (15 oz.) cans reduced-sodium cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1-1/2 c. frozen corn
• 4 c. low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Grated Parmesan cheese and parsley for topping

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large pot at medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken and salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Stir well and allow to cook for approximately 8 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
3. Add flour and stir. Then add beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. 
4. Bring chili to a simmer for 1 hour. Then add crushed red pepper flakes and allow to simmer for 10 more minutes.
5. Serve chili with topping of Parmesan and parsley.

The Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 9 tbsp. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 c. biscuit baking mix
• 1/4 c. yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 c. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well with each addition. Add vanilla and mix.
4. Add biscuit baking mix and cornmeal. Then add milk. Mix well.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.