Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

This was the second cupcake I made for my cupcake bake off at work.  It was the overall winner!  Martha Stewart has a Snickerdoodle Cupcake that I've seen a lot of people use, but I opted not to use her recipe because it uses the creaming butter and sugar method, which I rarely have good luck with.  Instead, I decided to use my favorite base vanilla cupcake and modify it.  The cake is wonderfully moist and the frosting looks like a little pillow with glittery cinnamon sugar on top.

Ingredients

Cake

1 3/4 cups cake flour 

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk

Frosting 

3 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons whipping cream 

cinnamon sugar for garnish 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Fill cupcake pan with liners. I made one pan of mini cupcakes and one pan of regular sized ones.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

3. Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes.  Because there is so little butter, you'll end up with a very fine crumb texture.

4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.

5. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.

6. Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined.  The batter will be liquid.

7. Fill cupcake liners. I use a tablespoon for mini cupcakes and 1/4 cup for regular sized cupcakes.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes for mini cupcakes and 14-16 minutes for regular cupcakes.  Let cool 10 minutes, than remove from tins and let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1. Combine butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl with a hand mixer.

2. Add whipping cream one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

3.  When cupcakes have cooled completely (at least 1 hour), frost. Sprinkle tops of cupcakes with cinnamon sugar.