My birthday was last month, & like every year, I look forward to making my own birthday cake. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered an appreciation for vanilla & have found, if given an option, I lean towards vanilla. Of course, I still enjoy chocolate, as well. Perhaps this is why I couldn’t decide on the frosting. That, and I really wanted to try the twist frosting.

It all made for a yummy celebration.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 tsps vanilla extract, I used clear

For the frosting:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 3 – 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• Unsweetened cocoa powder (to be used later)
• Pinch of salt
• 2 – 3 tbsp milk, half & half, or cream

Preparation:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, Crisco, & sugar until light & fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring to incorporate after each addition, being careful not to over beat.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, & salt. In a large measuring cup, add the milk, buttermilk, & vanilla extract & stir together.

Beginning & ending with flour mixture, alternate adding flour mix & milk mixture to the creamed mixture. Stir after each addition, scraping the sides & bottom.

Distribute batter into muffin tins. Bake for 17 – 18 minutes.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for 4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, a 1/2 cup at a time. After each addition has been incorporated, mix on high speed for 10 seconds.

Add vanilla extract & pinch of salt.

Add the milk, half & half, or cream until desired consistency is reached.

Since I wanted to have some cupcakes with white frosting & some with chocolate, after the frosting was made, I removed about half of it to another bowl. With the remaining amount, I added unsweetened cocoa powder & adjusted with milk/ cream for consistency.

For the twist frosting, in a gallon size bag, add white frosting to one side of the bag & chocolate to the other.

Notes: As you can see, the cupcakes weren’t stark white & that’s due to the whole eggs used in this recipe. It’s definitely more flavorful than just egg whites, but in the future, I might play around with it & use 3 whole eggs & 2 egg whites.

Source: https://addapinch.com/the-best-white-cake-recipe/

Source: https://addapinch.com/classic-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-recipe/