Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Chocolate ButterCreamCheese icing!Yes, please!

(sorry for the crappy picture. My tiny camera is not as awesome as my mom's Nikon D90 that I was using.)

Wow. Seriously, these are amazing cupcakes. I wanted a recipe for vanilla cupcakes, but really wanted it to be extraordinary. I wanted people to tell that they were homemade and not from a box. So, when I came across Annie's Eats version, I was sold. Everything Annie makes is amazing, so I knew these would be as well! Plus, I got to use a vanilla bean, which I have always seen used on cooking shows so I felt super chef-like using one. I had a bit of a hard time locating the vanilla bean in my mega grocery store (no thanks to the man who said "no, i've never seen one in the 5 years I worked here." Little did he know, they were right over his shoulder. It was really fun to be able to split it and reveals its amazing goodness. This batter makes at least 28 cupcakes so my little KA stand mixer was working hard, but I am glad I had a stand mixer to make them. I don't know if it would be possible without one because it takes quite a bit of time to make them and it's nice to walk away while everything's mixing.

I first made them for Jake's birthday sports cupcakes but I'm not sure Jake's 5 year old classmates had the palate to distinguish the vanilla bean goodness, but they ended up looking cute!

After Jake's birthday cupcakes, I decided to make them again for my monthly Cupcakes and Cocktails girl's night, and our family's crawfish boil. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the finished product until after they had been tossed around in their storage container, hence the horrible picture above. Anywho, they were even more delicious the second time around. The girls couldn't get enough at C&C! The chocolate buttercreamcheese (you have to say it all as one word!) is AH.MAY.ZING. I have to really talk myself out of making a batch just to eat with a spoon by itself. I discovered it from the genius that is Bakerella and it is my new favorite icing recipe! Enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes from Annie's Eats

3 cups cake flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1¼ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside.In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside. Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the bowl of the mixer with the butter and discard the pod (or reserve for another use.) Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and creamy in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.

 Add the sugar to the butter mixture, ¼ cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

 Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full (you will likely have batter left over after filling 24 wells.) Make sure you don't over-fill the liners. It makes for a mess...trust me. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Replace paper liners and bake remaining batter if desired. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Yield: approximately 30 cupcakes

Chocolate ButterCreamCheese Icing adapted from Bakerella

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used the normal Hershey's Cocoa powder)
1 box (1 lb) confectioner’s sugar (I find that Domino is the best)
1 tsp vanilla
1-3 Tbsp whipping cream

Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer, about 1 minute. Add the cocoa and vanilla. Add the confectioner’s sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition. Add 1 tablespoon of cream at a time until you get the consistency you desire. (I add the cream after the cocoa and vanilla and after each addition of sugar, but just a teaspoon at a time.)

This icing is great because it sets really well and doesn't melt like a normal cream cheese. And, did I mention, IT'S AH.MAY.ZING!