Perfect yellow cupcakes

Back in college, a our sorority chapter had a sisterhood dinner once a week at the large all-you-can-eat dining hall, D2. I always finished off my meals with a slice of yellow cake with yummy chocolate frosting. I found a recipe pretty close to the original in my KitchenAid mixer cookbook, and I tweaked it slightly for cupcakes. These yellow cupcakes are fluffy, ever so sweet, and easy to make. You can bake and frost in under an hour if you’re in a pinch.

The original recipe calls for only shortening. I tried a mixture of shortening and butter in a pinch, and I really liked how they turned out. The butter adds the nicest richness to the batter, and you still wind up with a tender crumb. Another way to get a really soft cake is to use cake flour. I’ve made this recipe with all-purpose flour and with cake flour. In my experience, you can swap out the flours almost interchangeably. I would decrease the all-purpose flour by a few tablespoons. You can also replace those tablespoons of flour with cornstarch. You’ll notice that these don’t get super golden brown in the oven.Use a cake tester or toothpick to check if they’re done.

Try some of my other Virginia Tech recipes: Cantina chicken quesadillas  |  Crispy chicken entrée  |  West End roasted garlic whipped potatoes  |  Au Bon Pain chicken Margherita sandwich  |  Turkey brioche deli sandwich  |  Au Bon Pain chicken Caesar wrap  |  West End Cajun pasta  |  West End buffalo chicken wrap

And what frosting pairs better with yellow cupcakes than chocolate buttercream? If you’re me, there is no better frosting. This particular buttercream is light with a nice chocolate flavor. I like the balance the semi-sweet chocolate with a square of unsweetened chocolate. Since you’re using so much powdered sugar, you don’t want the frosting to be too sweet. The chocolates work together, and you wind up with the perfect balance of sweetness in the buttercream. But a heads up: this particular buttercream isn’t the best for piping (if you can’t tell by my photos). You can add a tablespoon or so of milk to get a creamier frosting.

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  Sweet college plate and cupcake liners are optional, but highly recommended.