Best Cupcakes

If you've been out of your house in the last year, than you've probably seen cupcake shops popping up all over the place. I don't frequent them, but I do have a crush on cupcakes. They're a sublime 6 bites of cake and icing. For some reason, annihilating multiple cupcakes isn't accompanied with too much guilt, but eating a second piece of cake leads to an unforgivable world of making sure I get on the treadmill....twice.















I recently tested out David Lebovitz's adapted recipe for Showgirl Cupcakes to take on a field trip with my daughter and her class. Nigella Lawson , from whom the recipe was adapted, has her version in her cookbook Nigella Bites.

Both recipes are tasty, but I prefer a little less sugar than his, due to the peaks of frosting on top. I'm going to go somewhere in between his 2/3's cup and her 7 Tbsp., compromising at 1/3 cup sugar and a touch of honey. These "compromised" cupcakes have no need for frosting to complete their summit. But then, isn't that a muffin and not a cupcake? Oh no...no, no, we must make buttercream. Me, myself, and I didn't seem to experience any altercations in eating them with AND without frosting.















Honey-Vanilla Cupcakes
Yield: 12

1 stick butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. honey
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3/4 cup self-rising flour
2 Tbsp. water

Preheat the oven to 350. Beat the sugar, honey, and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, water, and vanilla; mix well to combine. Add the flour and mix until there aren't any lumps. Spoon batter in a muffin tin lined with cupcake papers, about 2/3's full. Bake for 15 minutes.

For the Buttercream Frosting:
2 sticks softened butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. salt
1 pound box powdered sugar

Whip the butter or margarine with the vanilla, honey, and salt until light in color. Add the powdered sugar, on low speed, and whip until fluffy (add 1 tsp. of milk or water at a time, if it's too stiff). Leftover frosting may be frozen for future use (bring to room temperature and re-whip, when ready to use again).