Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes (Best Cupcake Recipe Ever!)

I haven't been getting much time to bake lately, but I finally got a chance to try a new recipe of cupcakes. The problem was that I never found a cupcake recipe that I really loved - moist, tight-crumbed, and light - perfect with any frosting. That is until my mom found a recipe in the newspaper and clipped it out for me - it was a Godsend. The recipe belongs to Dorie Greenspan - the popular and award-winning American author of cookbooks who wrote the very popular baking book (which I own thanks to a friend) Baking: From My Home to Yours. Paired with my favorite and very simple home-made butter-cream frosting - these cupcakes were a winner!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fit a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. 

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate dish. 

*Sifting ingredients will produce better results*

3. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. 

4. One by one, mix in the eggs, the egg yolk, and vanilla. 

5. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing until smooth. Spoon out the batter. 

*Do NOT overmix for best results*

6. Bake for about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely. 

7. Top with your favorite frosting! :-D

Couldn't wait to use my new cupcake holder! I topped my cupcakes with classic vanilla butter-cream frosting and edible pearls, sprinkles, and gold dust