Dare I say . . . perfection? I do.

I have finally perfected my cupcakes. This is a vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream icing. Glistening in the sun before being gobbled up at a good pal of my son's going away party. The key: do not overbake! Cupcakes are not meant to be golden in any way on top. If they are, they will be dry. My oven, I have learned, has required me to rotate, rotate, and rotate. If I don't, I will have scorched bottoms, burned rims, and a smell of burnt cake in my kitchen for the day. But to bite into a moist, butter-y, creamy cupcake with just the right amount of frosting mixing in your mouth, is one of those happy things I can't live without - once in a while, that is!

Here's the recipe I use for the cupcakes. One bowl, 5 minutes. The best.
Old Fashioned Cupcakes from Cheryl Day, via foodnetwork.com
1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.

Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Cool and frost.

And here's the frosting, barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Instant Fudge Frosting, but I left out the chocolate (which is very good, I just didn't have any unsweetened chocolate left)
3 sticks butter, softened
6 cups confectioner's sugar
6 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla

Everything in a large bowl. With a hand mixer, slowly incorporate the sugar into the mixture, then beat at highest speed until smooth and creamy. Use a pastry bag to frost cupcakes. Keep them cool.