Grandma’s Cupcakes and Buttercream Icing

My maternal grandmother made awesome cookies, cakes, and pies. I loved her cupcakes. But when I asked her for the recipe to take home to Mom, she didn’t have one. She made the cupcakes based on memory and consistency of the batter. However, she developed the recipe for me. I’m so glad I made that request. Whenever I bake the cupcakes, the memory of standing on my stool beside Grandma fills my heart. For icing, Grandma swirled a stick of butter over the top of each cupcake and then sprinkled them with sugar.

When she didn’t have time for cupcakes, she made the icing described below to spread between graham crackers for me. It also works for the cupcakes. During an Internet icing search, I found a similar recipe replacing the milk with heavy cream. For detailed instructions to make Wedding Cupcake Buttercream Icing, visit www.recipegirl.com.

Grandma’s Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
⅓ cup butter
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon lemon flavoring

Directions:
1-Cream butter, sugar, milk, egg, and flavoring.
2-Combine flour and baking powder.
3-Slowly combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients until well blended.
4-Fill cupcake papers with ¼ cup of batter per cake
5-Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned edges.

Grandma’s Frosting
Ingredients:
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk (approximate) For richer taste, substitute milk for heavy cream.

Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar together, and then add milk until desired consistency for spreading.