Vanilla Cupcakes

 This recipe is from Food and Wine, as a part of a recipe for Vanilla Cupcake Ice Cream Sandwiches. The recipe itself is for cupcakes, but it instructs you to slice off the cupcake top to use as a sweet bun for an ice cream sandwich (and save the cupcake bottoms for some other use...lol). I made this for Arkasha’s birthday because I wanted a recipe that would only make a dozen cupcakes and that had an easy number of ingredients and steps that the little ones could help with the baking. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 2/3 cup whole milk 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature 
• 1 pint pistachio ice cream or sorbet, slightly softened
  

  Directions

  • Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the milk with the vanilla.

  • Step 2

    In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed, scraping down the bowl once or twice, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. At medium-low speed, beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients and the milk mixture in 3 alternating additions until smooth. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the batter into each prepared cup.

  • Step 3

     Bake the cupcakes for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.

  • Step 4

    Working with 1 cupcake at a time, peel off the liner. Turn the cupcake top side down in the palm of one hand, cover with the other hand and gently twist off the cake top. Reserve the cupcake bottom for another use. Arrange the top smooth side down on a platter. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes. Freeze the tops for 1 hour.

  • Step 5

    Spread 1/4 cup of the ice cream onto each of 6 cupcake tops. Close the sandwiches with the remaining cupcake tops and gently press together. Freeze for 30 minutes before serving.

  Make Ahead

  The ice cream sandwiches can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 week. Let soften at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

My thoughts:

1. As cupcakes, these were pretty dense, and I wouldn’t make again. Tasted yummy, but definitely needed frosting (I merely used icing) or milk or ice cream or something. 

2. I would be intrigued to use these as “buns” for an ice cream sandwich, though. Maybe in the summer!