Baking Day

A few weeks ago, I asked my mentee Kayla if she wanted to bake something for a mentor activity over the summer. She answered a quick "Yes, cupcakes!" So, that we did. I needed to make a dessert for a fundraiser on the weekend and so we had baking day. She, being a fan of the originals, decided to go with white cupcakes with white vanilla frosting. And sprinkles. :-) 

Coincidentally, I used the same really simple white cake recipe for my cupcakes. Mine were a bit more complex, with brownie on the bottom, white cake on the top, and peanut butter frosting to finish it off. The cupcakes should have been simple with a brownie mix and a white cake mix, but being generally against mixes, I made them both from scratch. The white cake was really fantastic, as long as I mixed in the eggs one at a time, and alternately added the dry ingredients and the milk. The peanut butter frosting was amazing. Period. Make it and try not to eat it all out of the bowl. Since they weren't particularly pretty when I was done, I shaved some dark chocolate over the tops and they looked great! After the fundraiser, apparently the fundraise-ee proclaimed how wonderful they were from the stage ;-) (I didn't hear this, since Pax and I left early, as he was being noisy baby.)

Simple White Cake

1 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 3/4 t. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9x9 inch pan. 

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Add vanilla.

2. Sift flour and baking powder together. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, alternating with adding milk. 

3. Pour into pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes (18-25 minutes for cupcakes).

Yield: 12 servings or 12 cupcakes. 

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting 

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. smooth peanut butter

3 T. milk, or as needed

2 c. powdered sugar

Blend butter and peanut butter together. Gradually mix in powdered sugar. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches desired consistency.