Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup skim milk, divided
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla beans, scraped (or 1 additional tablespoon vanilla extract)

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2 In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.
3 Combine the dry ingredients and the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix on low speed until the butter is completely mixed in and there is a mealy consistency.
4 Add ¼ cup of the milk and mix slowly to make a paste. This will break up any lumps that are trying to form. 5 In a separate medium bowl, combine the eggs with the rest of the milk, the vanilla extract, and the vanilla bean scrapings, and slowly pour the mixture into the batter in the standing mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on high for about 10 seconds.
6 With an ice cream scoop, fill the cups in the cupcake pan about ¾ full and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. The cupcake tops will just be slightly golden. If you over bake the cupcakes, brush the tops with Simple Syrup (page 44) right when they come out of the oven and they’ll be good to eat that day, but cannot be eaten the next.

YIELD: 12 cupcakes
KEEPS: Three days in the fridge in an airtight container