So less than 3 hours before the dinner party I was getting desperate and just decided to suck it up and use the recipe given with the pan.
Great Vanilla Cupcake
Ingredients:
- 3 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 1/3 unsalted butter
- 2 1/3 granulated sugar
- 5 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup of milk
Have all ingredients at room temperature.
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 325. Grease and flour the Great Cupcake Pan; tap our excess flour. *I just sprayed mine with Safeway brand Pam.
To make the cupcake, over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. *This is stupid. I just sifted it all into a bowl like a normal person.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling the wells to within 1/2 inch of the rim and spreading the batter so the sides are gigher than the center. Bake until the cupcake halves begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of each half comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcake cool for 15 minutes.
Gently tap the pan on the counter to loosen the cupcake. Set the rack over the cupcake, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Let the cupcake cool completely, at least 2 hours, before assembling and decorating.
*Personal Notes:
- I would recommend baking the top and bottom individually. The top seemed to finish faster than the bottom and although it didn’t burn it may have been more moist if it weren’t in the oven those extra 20 minutes.
- I didn’t use the suggested buttercream recipe. I used a simple chocolate buttercream from William Sonoma.
- If your halves puff up in the center don’t worry, it’s really easy to cut that off with a cerrated knife.
- For those of you that don’t have an amazing sister that bought you this pan… this recipe was good enough that maybe you could use for regular ‘ol cakes or cupcakes. My favorite vanilla cake recipe so far can be found here.
