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vanilla, chocolate and strawberry cupcakes

* adapted from Martha Stewart

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
easy butter icing
royal icing flowers (daisies, roses, pansies, etc.), silver dragees, or candied violets or other edible flowers

instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a cupcake pan with liners; set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; scrape down bowl, and beat in vanilla.

3.  Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

4.  Divide batter evenly among liners, about three-quarters full each. Bake until golden and tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer pans to wire rack; cool completely.

5. Ice with easy butter icing (delicious and simple, especially when your buttercream has, for some ungodly reason decided to turn to water) and top with flowers or other decorations.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Easy Butter Icing:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 pound (3 2/3 cups) confectioners’ sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk (optional)

1.  In a mixing bowl, cream butter until smooth.

2.  Gradually add confectioners’ sugar; beat until smooth. If too thick to spread, beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons milk.

Makes 3 1/2 cups, enough for 12 standard cupcakes.

Changes, hints, tips and thoughts for this recipe:

• how nice is the combination of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry cupcakes? It was nice that I already had a tried-and-true recipe for chocolate cupcakes, and I was making that gorgeous strawberry cake the weekend before, allowing me to make 12 strawberry cupcakes with the remaining batter. How perfect!