Valentine's Cupcakes

Is there any better way to tell someone you love them than sending them a giant box full cupcakes?

I think not. So this is exactly what I decided to do for my dear sister (also the lucky recipient of some S'mores Brownies a few weeks ago). I didn't want to make anything too crazy, just something simple and delicious. But since it is Valentine's Day after all, I did add a little twist of color. I divided the finished batter in two and dyed half of it pink (and later, red) and made two-tone cupcakes. I put the color on the bottom for most, so they would look like plain old vanilla cupcakes until you unwrapped them. But I then got bored of that and did it the other way around. My decorating skills are not the best, but the cupcakes tasted delicious (what, you think I didn't save a few for myself?) and that is what counts.

Valentine's Cupcakes (1-2-3-4 Cupcakes)

Adapted from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food

Cake:

4 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

3 cups cake flour (if you don't have any, it's super easy to make your own, check out Joy the Baker's tutorial)

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Red food dye (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Measure the milk and set aside.

In a separate, large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Then add the sugar and cream. Beat in the 4 egg yolks one at a time. Stir in the vanilla extract. When well mixed, add the one third of the flour, followed by half the milk, another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and the last of the flour, incorporating well at each step.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Stir one-third of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest.

Divide the batter into two parts. Mix the desired amount of food dye into one half. Put a spoon full of colored batter into each cup and top with a spoonful of white batter or vice versa. Bake for 18-20 minutes and allow to cool completely before frosting. Makes 24-30 cupcakes.

Simple Frosting

Adapted from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food

12 tbsp butter, softened

1 and 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, fully incorporating each time. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and beat until smooth. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.