Hello friends!
Today, we’re diving into a new recipe: vanilla cupcakes with penuche frosting! This is something new I tried a couple months ago and I think I finally nailed the recipe. It’s a reverse cream cake recipe for the cupcakes, which gives them a really nice crumbly (but not dry) texture and the frosting is the stuff of every kid’s dreams (and every dentist’s nightmares). For any fellow amateur bakers, penuche may sound like a super fancy baking term that likely has something to do with peanuts or meringue, but it is neither of those things! Penuche is similar to fudge and is basically a mixture of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla - all cooked together to create a super rich sweet treat - perfect for frosting cupcakes.
So let’s jump straight into the recipe and if you’re a super keen bean and want to know why in the world I decided on pairing a vanilla cupcake with penuche frosting you can have a little snoop here.
Vanilla cupcakes w/ penuche frosting from my new Strange Buns from Stardew Valley YouTube video - click to watch!
・Ingredients・
for the vanilla cupcakes
115g softened butter
175g caster sugar
175f self raising flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp of baking powder
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
4 tbsp of milk
for the penuche frosting
85g of butter
140g of soft brown sugar
150g of icing sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 tbsp of milk
・Method・
For the Vanilla Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 180ªC/160ªC Fan/375ªF
Line muffin tin with cases
In a large mixing bowl, mix the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy.
Crack in your eggs one at a time, whisking them in to retain fluffiness.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and then fold it into your batter until just combined.
Add the milk and stir until combined.
Spoon them into your cupcake cases (about 3/4 full)
Bake for 20 minutes! You’ll know they’re ready when they are golden brown and firm to the touch or a toothpick comes out clean.
For the Penuche Frosting
Gently melt butter on a medium-low heat.
When the butter is melted, add sugar and stir until it’s dissolved.
Add milk and vanilla extract, stir, then bring to a boil.
When the mixture boils, remove it from the heat, and pour it into a large mixing bowl.
Leave this to cool for 5 minutes.
Sift in the icing sugar and mix it all up!
When it’s all sifted together, use immediately.
For any of you wondering if this particular cupcake is going to make your dentist scream the moment you take a bite, I can assure you that even though the cupcakes lean on the sweeter side, the cake and frosting combination is a winner. If you’re still feeling a little nervous using this much sugar in a recipe, I recommend making muffins instead.
Until next time,
