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Step 1: Ingredients
For the cake:
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting:
• 12 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• red sanding sugar (optional)
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting:
• 12 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• red sanding sugar (optional)
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To be as possibly sure to make your cupcakes moist simply use a high smoke point oil, not butter.
(the higher the smoke point the oil has the more moist the cupcakes will be)
The easiest to access and use is Extra light Olive oil since its Smoke point is 468 Degrees Fahrenheit. Then again, your cup cakes will increasingly cost you more to make, but can you put a cost price on deliciously moist cupcakes?
The second addition she has told me time and time again to making a good cupcake is being able to make a nice soft yet sturdy frosting/icing for your cupcake. She tells me, "Now while powdered sugar does the job, the best way to make a great tasting frosting that doesn't taste like grainy sugar or end up melting after you put it on and let them sit out is by replacing the powdered sugar with powdered Meringue."
Trust me on this one, do not even bother looking at your local grocery store for powdered meringue, just order it online and save yourself the repeating blank idiotic stares of the employees at the grocery stores when you ask if they carry it.
If you add these two rules to this recipe, you'll have yourself a winner.
Swiss or Italian meringue buttercream are wonderful (they use cooked, whipped egg whites and cooked sugar, not powdered). Then again, I'm a flavor freak and would much prefer superior flavor over "shelf stable" for cupcakes or anything else.
I think people use butter in cupcakes for the flavor rather than to increase moisture. It's true that liquid fats coat proteins better than solid fats (which makes for a moister cupcake). There are options, though, if cupcake dryness is an issue but someone doesn't want to lose that real butter flavor.
One could substitute some of the butter for oil, add some slightly acidic ingredients (like buttermilk) to inhibit protein formation (because proteins grab water, which makes less available for moistness), be sure to use cake flour and not overbeat (avoid too much protein forming), add hygroscopic agents like honey, or substitute some of the egg white for more egg yolk (egg whites provide structure but dry out the cake).
On a side note, the craft stores around here carry meringue powder in the cake decorating aisle. Sometimes it can be purchased locally. :)