Skip Right to the Recipe if You Know What is Good for You: Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Marshmallowy Frosting

Glossy, snow-white frosting glazed over the top of a sugar cookie tasting cake. Oh, sorry, am I making you drool at your computer? I’m not? Huh, well, you should be, because this cake is g-o-o-d, good. The recipe was originally for cupcakes, but I poured most of it into a 9-inch round(greased) cake pan and four cupcakes, which I put too much batter in and then they overflowed slightly. But, that is not relevent. What is relevent is that you should make this cake and frosting combo now. As in as soon as the butter is a room temperature(and I don’t mean go stick it in the microwave, either). It takes all of 5 minutes to whip together and within the hour, you can have some of this yummy cake; the frosting can be made while the cake is in the oven.  I go the cake recipe from the the comfort of cooking blog and the frosting is from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. Now shoo and make some cake!

~thechildcooks

Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups. In a small bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients until well combined.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture, stir, pour in buttermilk, stir, and then add the remaining flour. Stir until well combined.

Distribute evenly in muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Store in the refrigerator for up to five days.

White Mountain(a.k.a. Marshmallow) Frosting

 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons water

2 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in saucepan. Cover;heat to rolling boil over medium heat. Uncover; boil rapidly until candy thermometer registers 242F .

As mixture boils, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Pour hot syrup very slowly in thin stream into egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Add vanilla; beat on high-speed until stiff peaks form.

Sourdough Bread and Starlight Cupcakes

Here my fellow bloggers are the recipes for a basic sourdough bread and Starlight Cupcakes.

Sourdough Bread using the starter from this post

1 cup sourdough starter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cup warm water(105-115F)

3 3/4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

Cold water for baking

Start the night before you wish to make the bread or start in the morning and bake at night.

Mix sourdough starter, 2 1/2 cups flour and 2 cups warm water in 3-quart glass bowl with wooden spoon until smooth. Cover; let stand in warm, draft free place for 8 hours.

Add 3 3/4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, baking soda and oil to the mixture in the bowl; stir with wooden spoon until smooth and flour is completely absorbed. If necessary add some of the remaining 1/2 cup flour.

Turn dough onto heavily floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up and cover. Let rise in warm, draft free place for 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down dough; divide into halves. Shape each half into a round, slightly flat loaf. Place loaves on parchment lined baking sheets and score each loaf 3 times on the top. Let rise until double, about 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 375F. Brush loaves with water and place into preheated oven. Bake, brushing occasionally with water for 50 minutes or until loaves sound hollow. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Note: Because you used your sourdough starter, you should feed it 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water by stirring it in and letting it set on the counter for 12 hours. Return to refrigerator and use once a week to 10 days.  

Starlight Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups all purpose-flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

Heat oven to 350F and line approximately 27 standard cupcake tin holes with liners or spray. Beat all ingredients on low for 30 seconds then on high for 3 minutes, scraping frequently. Pour batter into tins.

Bake until wooden toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove immediately from pans to cooling racks.