Vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting and Rum!

Vanilla cupcakes and a multitude of other flavors are all the rage in bake shops. I hear of New York stores like 'Crumbs' that specialize in these treats and they are doing great business. Of course, the size is huge and so are the flavors. I started with a recipe from "the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook" for vanilla cake and modified it slightly with the addition of some Dark Rum.



That's 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, 1 1/4 cups AP flour, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp Rum. Cream the butter and slowly add the sugar, continue mixing for 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, continue mixing, then add the flours, in 4 parts. Add milk and vanilla and mix until creamy smooth.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, grease muffin cups or cake pan, whichever you use, and spoon batter into place. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick in center comes out clean. remove from oven and allow to cool.



vanilla cupcakes and more at amazon books

Now comes the fun part, take a tablespoon of dark Rum and a dropper. You know, eyedropper, medicine dropper...one of those. Put a few drops of Rum on each cupcake and top with rich buttercream frosting. Vanilla Rum has a nice sound to it, doesn't it? See what your family's reaction is when they take a bite, just say you have a special ingredient in there...it'll be our secret!