Ingredients
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
3 cups baker’s (superfine) sugar
3 eggs
3 egg whites
3 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1 cup vegetable oil
3 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanillla bean
Blackberry Buttercream
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
5 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup seedless blackberry preserves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with baking cups.
In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs/whites together until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture, milk, oil, and vanilla to the eggs. Split the vanilla bean from end to end and scrape the seeds out with a knife. Add to the mix and incorporate the ingredients together slowly, just until the batter is smooth. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely while preparing the frosting.
Place the butter and cream cheese in a mixer bowl and whip together until creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. When combined, add the blackberry preserves and the vanilla and mix well. Can be held in the refrigerator overnight and re-whipped prior to frosting the cupcakes.
Makes 3 dozen frosted cupcakes.
