Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes

The other cupcake I made comes from a recipe provided by Magnolia Bakery, the New York City landmark. This one turned out a little dryer than the previous, but still quite good tasting; it again pairs well with the buttercream, the recipe for this also comes from Magnolia Bakery.

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes
adapted from a recipe from the World Famous Magnolia Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen
3/4 cup self-rising flour
5/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Buttercream (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. In a small bowl, combine flours; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla, and scraping down sides of bowl in between each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about three-quarters full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool in tins for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tins, and cool completely on rack. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Serve at room temperature.

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Buttercream
adapted from a recipe from the World Famous Magnolia Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, 3 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. If needed, gradually add remaining sugar, beating for about 2 minutes after each addition, until icing reaches desired consistency.