Gold Glitter Vanilla Cupcakes

It’s always fun to add a little sparkle to your New Year’s Eve celebration. I like to make something special to ring in the new year. Cupcakes are a perennial favourite for the occasion, since they’re single-serve, easy to hold, and portable–not to mention cute and delicious! I loved making these vanilla cupcakes with edible gold glitter for New Year’s Eve. The classic vanilla flavour goes beautifully with champagne, and the edible glitter adds a touch of sparkle to these delicious cupcakes.

I think I went a little overboard with the frosting, since I used two layers. I don’t regret it one bit, though! New Year’s Eve is the perfect time for a decadent celebration. I love how high the vanilla buttercream frosting looks, and how rich and creamy it is. The cakes are so good, too. They’re full of vanilla flavour, because I used vanilla bean paste. I just love that stuff. It is so incredible for making anything vanilla-flavoured. Of course, any good quality pure vanilla extract works well, too.

These vanilla cupcakes are great for just about any occasion, with or without sprinkles, edible glitter, or any other edible decoration you like. I hope you’ll enjoy trying the recipe.

Happy New Year!

• Servings: 12-15
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I loved making these vanilla cupcakes with edible gold glitter for New Year's Eve. The classic vanilla flavour goes beautifully with champagne, and the edible glitter adds a touch of sparkle to these delicious cupcakes.

This recipe was lightly adapted from Very Vanilla Cupcakes on Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes

 

• 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup/ 115g unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup full fat Greek yogurt (or vanilla Greek yogurt, plain yogurt, or sour cream—must be full fat, no matter which type of dairy you use)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

 

Vanilla Frosting

 

• 1 cup/ 225g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered/ confectioner’s sugar/ soft icing mixture
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (or use milk or half-and-half, but heavy cream will give the frosting a thicker texture) or full fat thickened cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• Kosher salt, to taste (optional)
• Sprinkles, edible glitter, or other small edible decorations (optional)

Directions

To make cupcakes:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C degrees. Line muffin tin with 12-15 cupcake liners/ pattypans. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
3. In a large microwave-safe bowl or Pyrex measuring cup covered loosely with plastic wrap, leaving a small hole for air to escape, melt butter in the microwave. Allow melted butter to cool slightly, then pour into the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, if using a handheld mixer or mixing by hand. Using whisk attachment on low speed, mix sugar into melted butter. Mixture will be gritty. Mix in egg whites, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste until combined.
4. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick (unless using sour cream, then the batter will be a bit thinner).
5. Divide batter among 12-15 cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 2 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and place onto cooling rack. Cover with a clean tea towel. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting:

1. Beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for about 3-5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar/ soft icing mixture, cream, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste with the mixer running. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar/ soft icing mixture if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (about 1/4 teaspoon).
2. Frost cooled cupcakes (such as a Wilton 1M piping tip). There may be leftover frosting, depending how much you use on each cupcake. If you want to have very decadent cupcakes, double the frosting on each cupcake by layering it on twice. There should be plenty of frosting to do this.
3. Add sprinkles, edible glitter, or any other edible decorations you like on top of frosting (optional).

This recipe was created by Kim Sequoia for a delicious moment.

All written content and photos are copyright Kim Sequoia 2019 for a delicious moment.