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Vanilla butter cupcakes

Vanilla butter muffins are like a sponge or genoise cake - light, fluffy and moist. Each recipe makes 16 standard size muffins.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 16 cupcakes
Calories: 179
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 stick butter softened plus 1 to 2 tbsps Crisco shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • Powdered sugar to sprinkle on top
  • Zest of 1 lemon

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2.  In a large mixing bowl,place the softened butter and the crisco. Using an electric mixer on medium, cream the butter and Crisco until soft and creamy. Add the sugar gradually and continue to beat until the batter is light and fluffy. This could take 10-15 minutes.
  3. Beat in the eggs one at a time. After eggs are added, then beat the batter for 2 minutes. Switching to low, beat in the flour and milk in alternate additions. Beat in the vanilla and the zest of the lemon.
  4. Pour the batter into greased and floured muffin tins. I would not use cupcake liners because they make the muffins seem drier. I don't know why. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when you touch them. This recipe make 16 cupcakes
  5. Let pans with muffins still inside cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Then remove muffins and place them on a cooling rack. When they are cool, sprinkle the muffins heavily with confectioners’ sugar.  Makes 16 muffins.

Notes

This recipe uses butter and Crisco. If you change the dynamic by substituting with Greek yogurt or applesauce, I cannot say what the effect would be. While I try to be calorie and fat conscious, I would rather make these cupcakes smaller than change the ingredients.