MommaSnapsBack Yellow Cupcakes

Okay, so I decided to give Betty (Crocker) and Duncan (Hines) a break and try to make cupcakes from scratch like a real, honest WOMAN! I’ve tried a few recipes I found online, and while most will get you pretty much all the way to a decent and edible cupcake, there is a lot of trial and error leading to a GOOD cupcake. I found a few solid recipes, and as I usually do, I used those recipes as a foundation and made a few slight tweaks to my family’s preferences.

Baking is more scientific than cooking so try to follow the recipe as closely as possible, because i’ve already “winged it” a little on your behalf here 🙂

NOTE: When using recipes with a lot of flour or almond flour, it really does make a difference if you have the patience to sift the flour through a sifter of sieve. If you’re in a hurry, you’ll still get good cupcakes, but try sifting one batch and see the difference.

EXTRACT substitutions: Sometimes I would use different extract combinations to get different flavors. The recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of vanilla, but here are some other ideas.

Light Cherry: Use 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp almond extract.

Strong Cherry: Use 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Lemon: Use 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 tsp Lemon extract (adding lemon zest to the batter is a nice addition to this one, too!)

I haven’t found other extract flavors to carry well without adding too much to dilute the batter. Generally, make sure you’re using 3 tsp fluid extracts, without overpowering the batter with strong flavors. It’s EASY to do and so yucky to get TOO MUCH almond extract flavor, so if trying the cherry option, I recommend going the “light cherry” route first and see what you think.