One of the greatest things about baking, other than pretty much having cake on demand, is the pure joy when something you make turns out perfect. Just like you imagined and exactly like you hoped. These cupcakes have the best best best texture of any I’ve ever made or eaten. They’re so classic, so simple and would make the greatest birthday cupcakes. Or any other day cupcakes honestly. You don’t need to wait for a big day to make these!

King Arthur Flour’s Classic Birthday Cake is their 2019 Recipe of the Year and it’s been floating around on Instagram for a while now. I’ve been thinking of trying it for a really long time, except it’s basically a yellow cake which is already on this blog (and a delicious one at that). But so many people have been making the KAF recipe, I took a look at it to see what the hype was about.

It turns out, that a unique combination of hot milk stirred with a bit of butter and oil, creates the most amazing texture. Springy but moist, pound cake-ish but very light. And it remains that way even cold from the fridge. It blew my mind when I took that first bite. It tastes perfectly of vanilla and butter, though there’s comparatively less fat in this cake. The eggs are beaten for a while to get them thick and fluffy and that contributes a lot of the magic. It also leads to a paler yellow colour than I expected but that’s just fine. It’s a really enjoyable batter to make for some reason!

(I thought a lot about adding sprinkles and finally gave it right at the end of shooting these!)

The original recipe makes a large two-layer cake and my oven doesn’t fit two cake tins at once. So I halved it and decided to go the cupcake route. I read reviews that said the cake was a bit sweet (1 cup flour to 1 cup sugar did sound like a lot) so I cut the sugar down even further and the cupcakes still taste perfect and not under sweetened at all.

The frosting uses a bit of hot water, but since I was making a much smaller recipe, I played around quite a bit with the proportions to not have a whole lot of excess frosting. I also tend to prefer less sweet frostings and since they depend on sugar to keep them thick and pipe-able, my version is thinner. You can however simply chill it to get it to a piping consistency. But honestly, just swooping it onto the cupcakes is SO much easier and leads to far less frosting going waste in my opinion!

I cannot recommend this recipe enough. The silky, bittersweet frosting is so perfect with that pillowy vanilla cupcake, I have no idea how I resisted eating the whole batch!

Let’s make some cupcakes 🙂

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Yellow Cake Cupcakes (Birthday Cupcakes!)

Perfect moist yellow cake cupcakes with a silky chocolate frosting

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 55

Makes: 10 cupcakes

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Ingredients

For the cupcakes

2 eggs, at room temperature (see notes)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 and 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbsps butter, at room temperature
1/6 cup vegetable oil

For the frosting

1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 tbsps hot water
90 gms unsalted butter, at room temp (7 tbsps)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160 C. Line 10 muffin moulds with liners and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a mixing bowl and hand mixer), combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Beat for 3 to 4 minutes on high speed until very thick and light in colour. When you lift up the whisk, the batter should fall in ribbons back into the bowl. If this doesn't happen, continue beating because this step is crucial to the perfect texture.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Switch to the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer and beat on low speed until just combined.
Now in a small saucepan, heat the milk until it's hot but not boiling. Turn off the heat, then add the oil and butter to the milk, stirring until the butter has dissolved.
With the mixer running on low speed, pour this hot milk mixture in a thin stream into the bowl. Don't worry, the eggs will not scramble! If using a hand mixer, an extra set of hands is useful at this step so that you can continue beating the batter, otherwise pour it in gradually, alternating with beating the batter.
Give the batter a quick stir by hand to make sure it's evenly mixed and there's no bits of flour stuck to the bottom. It is a fairly runny batter.
Divide equally into the cupcake liners. It's easiest to just pour the batter rather than spoon it in.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. The cupcakes don't brown or dome much, but the tops will feel springy when they're done.
Allow to cool completely at room temperature.
To make the frosting, sift the cocoa and icing sugar together in a small bowl. Add the hot water and stir well to make a smooth, thick paste-like mixture. I found that the hot water creates a silkier frosting although I've made similar frostings without it as well.
Now in a mixing bowl, beat the butter, vanilla and the cocoa mixture, until you have a smooth, fluffy and lightened frosting. If it feels runny, chill it for 15 minutes.
Spoon or pipe onto the cooled cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles if you like. Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight tin for 5 days. Best eaten at room temperature so that frosting softens. Happy baking!

Notes

*The same batter can be baked in an 8" round cake tin for a single layer cake.

*If you would like a thicker, sweeter frosting, you may want to check out the original King Arthur Flour recipe. The frosting here is tailored to my taste preferences and is more bittersweet and the lower amount of sugar makes it thinner as well.

*Here is an eggless version of this recipe.

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