A few weeks ago I bought some vanilla beans from Penzey’s – not because I needed them at the time but because the price seemed better than vanilla beans I’ve previously purchased. Having made Candy Corn Parfait last week, I had six egg whites to use in the fridge. Vanilla cupcakes seemed a wise decision to use my leftover egg whites and my newly purchased vanilla beans.
ingredients.
- 12 T. butter, softened
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 2 c. flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 6 large egg whites (6 oz)
- 3/4 c. buttermilk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 vanilla bean (insides)
- 2 Texas-sized muffin pans
directions.
- Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk mixture.
- Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scrape bowl and beater often.
- Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and with a knife or spoon, scrape the insides of the bean into the batter.
- Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake cupcakes about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.
- Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Bean Frosting.
This recipe made 11 Texas-sized cupcakes for me. I piled these little cakes high with frosting, mainly because I had a ton of it. These cupcakes are very sweet. Wash it down with a glass of milk!
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 