Cupcakes Ahoy

Cupcakes are all the rage at pre-school these days, even with the little boys! I was commissioned to make these cupcakes for my little friend Max, who lives next door to the girls I babysit. While the girls and I spend our days waltzing around the kitchen to Disney princess tunes, I almost never see Max without a sword in his hand! He loves superheros, Big wheels, and... Pirates! Captain Max is turning 4, and his mom wanted him to have pirate cupcakes to celebrate!

I saw these wrappers at Wegmans, and snatched them up. The cupcakes are simple- vanilla and chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting. The cake recipes are both from one of my favorite websites, Smitten Kitchen, and I have to say the chocolate cake recipe- is to die for. It has sour cream in it- which sounds strange, but takes me back to my grandmother's kitchen and her special occasion chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes. Grambo always frosted her cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, but for Max, I used a simple buttercream, which, to be honest, I don't usually use a recipe for! When I was putting these cupcakes together I made sure to measure, just for you folks.




Buttercream Frosting:

This frosting pipes well, tastes great, and looks pretty! What more do you need?

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
2 lbs of powdered sugar
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of salt
3 tbs heavy cream


Fit your stand mixer with the whip attachment and put the butter in the bowl. Now whip it, and whip it good. Don't hold back- use high speed. It should be light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and salt. Start adding your powdered sugar in small increments, about an 1/8 of a bag at a time. Don't dump it in all at once or your frosting will be grainy. Once all the sugar is whipped in, your frosting is going to look a little chunky. This is where the cream comes in- add it one tablespoon at a time. Sometimes you need it all, sometimes you don't. If you plan on piping the frosting, err on the side of dryness. Frost something, grab a spoon, or just dip your (clean) fingers in it. Enjoy!