RECIPE: TRIPLE VANILLA CUPCAKES

Go ahead, take a bite:Or do you want to take a bite out of this one:Vanilla bean, vanilla extract and vanilla sugar. All three types of vanilla are the stars of the triple vanilla cupcakes. If you don't have vanilla sugar available at your local store, or you want to save some cash and make your own, just use the bean shell/pod from an already-scraped vanilla bean and stick it in a 2L jar with white sugar. Leave it alone for at least a week, shaking the jar every couple of days. After that, open your jar and sniff. You'll inhale the wonderful scent of vanilla sugar. Ta-da, vanilla sugar!

I made these cupcakes at Jessie's house with her and Sean. It was a very hilarious evening involving the KitchenAid stand mixer, a Dollarama spatula and batter going everywhere but those photos aren't as lovely as the ones pictured here.

Triple Vanilla Cupcakes
(adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop*)

Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup of vanilla sugar (down from 1 2/3 cups)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 2/3 cups flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract (upped from 1 tsp)
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out (upped from 1/2 vanilla bean)

Directions:

1. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
3. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Vanilla Bean Frosting
(adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop)

Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 package (8 ounces) philly cream cheese
- 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar*

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Add the vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, and 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy.
   
4. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like. (Our frosting was really "runny" so I kept adding more and more powdered sugar. In fact, I nearly ran out and Jessie was worrying about all the sugar I was adding. Next time, I would decrease the amount of butter used to maybe 1/4 of a cup or none at all.)

The next time I decided to sprinkle some homemade vanilla salt (vanilla bean seeds and sea salt) on top of the icing. It was a match made in heaven. If you're a fiend of the sweet and savory combo like I am (think maple syrup on your bacon or Vosges bacon chocolate bar), you'll love this combo. *Jessie and I are pretty much Vanilla Monsters so we upped the vanilla any time we could. She also suggested we cut down the amount of sugar anytime we could and also wanted to reduce the amount of butter (she's currently on WW) but while I was okay with decreasing the amount of sugar, I wasn't keen on the butter reduction. Cupcakes are my one indulgence and I don't indulge in cake (in any form) very often anyway.