White Cupcakes with PInk Buttercream Frosting

When I started considering a theme for my blog, I began thinking about my interests and hobbies. Where do I spend my time when I'm not studying, working, or doing something at my church, when I've got extra time during the day? The answer was fairly obvious. Baking, or cooking.  Most of the time though, baking.
Ever since I was 8 years old, making apple slices and pies with my grandma, I've loved to bake for my family and friends.
  These days, I've been on the search for the best dessert recipes I can find, and hey, my friends and boyfriend definitely don't seem to mind this hobby.  In fact, they tend to expect some kind of baked goodies every time they see me.  If I didn't know any better, I would question whether or not they really like me or just my food....  But, on the other hand, the feed-back is always nice!
 I love to try out different recipes that sound interesting once or twice a week usually, surfing the web or cookbooks (my mom collects thousands it seems like) for the best looking and sounding recipes I can find.  From cakes and breads to cookies and brownies, I've tried out a good portion of the recipes and sites available on the Internet. Hopefully, I'll be able to offer up a few helpful tips and recipes from my own personal baking experiments :)
 I'm not sure exactly what it is that makes baking so enjoyable for me.  It's partly the challenge of finding the BEST recipe.  There's so many out there these days; so many cookbooks and recipe sites.  But I'll never really know until I try them out, right?
            One thing I've found is that if it doesn't look good, it most likely won't taste good.  There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, it hasn't steered me wrong! I like to search recipe images first before reading through the actual ingredients and process.  I plan on taking pictures to accompany all the recipes I post.  Another problem is personal preference. We all have different ideas of the perfect chocolate chip cookie, apple pie, cinnamon roll, etc. Through pictures I post and descriptive writing, you will hopefully have a fairly good idea of what you're making before you make it!

So, for my first entry, I'll leave you with the cupcake recipe I made this morning for an event at church.  I searched and searched online and through cookbooks for a moist white cupcake recipe from scratch, and I'd say this one turned out pretty good. I like WHITE cake, not yellowish white-ish cake, I just think it tastes better.  This cake came out fluffy and light, almost like angel food cake, which isn't what I was aiming for but is still yummy.  I took a recipe I found and changed a few things, including adding more sugar, lots more vanilla ( it can never hurt) and less baking powder. I also piped some vanilla pudding into the centers of them. I've learned by mistake that people expect anything called a dessert to be plenty sweet, so never skimp on sugar, and never make a recipe that looks like its lacking it :)   Enjoy! 

     White Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream Frosting

                                                                     Makes 28 cupcakes

Ingredients for cake:

1 stick butter

1/2 cup oil

2 T. vanilla extract

1 c. milk, plus 1 3/4 cups (for pudding)

4 egg whites

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. sugar

3 c. cake flour

1/2 cup sour cream

1 box instant vanilla pudding

Ingredients for frosting:

3 c. powdered sugar

1 stick butter

1 T. vanilla

4-6 T. milk

5-6 drops red or pink food coloring

                 Directions:

           Preheat oven to 325 F.  Mix egg whites and butter on low speed for 1-2 minutes or until incorporated.  Add in other wet ingredients besides extra 2 cups of milk, and mix until blended.  Slowly add in sugar, beating well after each addition.  Mix in dry ingredients except pudding, one at a time. Should be about the consistency of pancake batter. pour batter into lined cupcake pans, and bake for 17-21 minutes.  Poke with tooth pick in center to check cupcakes.  They're best when they're just barely done, but not runny in the middle.  Cool completely.   

Mix remaining milk with pudding mix, beating for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. 

Poke holes in the center of the cooled cupcakes. Fill piping bag with pudding, and fill center of each cake with about 2 tsp. of pudding. 

For frosting, mix butter and vanilla on medium speed until blended.  Slowly add in powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency. Lastly, add in coloring.  If the frosting is too thin, it will run right off the cupcakes. Fill decorating bag with icing using the metal star tip.  Pipe frosting onto cupcakes in a small circles. Top with non-perils if desired. 

                             

                              And here's the finished cupcakes!