Cupcakes have been around for ages, but it wasn’t until nearly 20 years ago that TV’s Carrie Bradshaw and her friends catapulted the sweet treats into a global obsession by visiting the original Magnolia Bakery branch in New York.
For years, tourists would form a line snaking around the block to try Carrie’s favourite cupcake (as much as we love them, it’s the banana pudding that’s one of our favourite desserts).
Happily for UAE residents, the famous New York bakery has three branches in Dubai – one in The Dubai Mall in Downtown Dubai, one in Dubai Festival City, and one at Palm Jumeirah’s Golden Mile – as well as the largest Magnolia Bakery in the world at The Galleria Al Maryah Island.
As we spend more Time In these days, baking at home is more popular than ever (we’re looking at you banana bread) but there’s always another project to tackle, and luckily, Magnolia Bakery has recently shared some of its recipes.
If you’d like to whip up a batch of the world-famous cupcakes at home – no line included – read on.
This recipe makes two dozen cupcakes. Now let’s get baking.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
• 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for the Magnolia Bakery vanilla buttercream frosting:
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Method:
Cupcakes:
• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
• In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
• Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.
• With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
• Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.
• Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean.
• Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Frosting:
• Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl.
• Add the vanilla. Gradually add sugar one cup at a time. Scrape down sides of bowl often. When the mixture starts to thicken and appears dry, add two tablespoons milk.
• Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two-four minutes. Add more milk as needed if you want a thinner consistency. If desired, add a few drops of food colouring and mix thoroughly.
• Store the frosting at room temperature. The frosting can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.
Can’t get enough of baking at home? We have loads of recipes here, as well as some top cooking tips and celebrity chef recipes.
