Let them eat cake...

By now you've all heard that I found the Magnolia recipe for banana pudding. The good news is, I also found the recipe for their cupcakes and buttercream icing! Dave and I had my parents and grandparents over for dinner on Saturday night and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try out the new recipe!

I pretty much spent hours on Friday night making these delicious treats. Next time, I don't think it will take me quite so long. There was a learning curve, but the end result was wonderful!

All of my co-workers are enjoying the fruits of my labor because I brought the leftover cupcakes to share. The alternative is ME eating every last one had I left them at home. My hips and thighs do NOT need that! I hope you all enjoy these.....it would be pretty hard not to!!

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes

Recipe from: More From Magnolia

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. **I would say slightly less than 3/4 full, but it depends on how much you want it to spill over/how big you want your muffin tops. These cupcakes rise a lot. I filled the cups less than 3/4 full for my 2nd and 3rd batch and I liked the size better.
5. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
6. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Recipe from: More From Magnolia
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. **I only used about 6.5 cups of the sugar at first and started to ice the cupcakes. It was NOT thick enough. I ended up adding all 8 cups and it was the perfect thickness.

All set for the icing portion of the program...

They're all iced and ready to be eaten! You'll notice the pink icing was the color chosen to be iced first. This is when I realized it really wasn't thick enough, so I added more powdered sugar to the yellow and the green. They set much nicer.

Here they are in my cake dish. Aren't they so pretty!