As mentioned in my previous posts, I started baking very recently and am still a beginner. I love cupcakes and knew I would be trying one very soon, but my biggest confusion was to pick a flavor, as both vanilla & chocolate were my favorites. That’s when my hubby proposed a half-n-half cake, and we loved the end result. The cupcakes when topped with butterscotch frosting, made my day…!!

The preparation was fun, as pouring the batter of the two flavors together into the pans was a bit tricky. The vanilla is much denser and displaces the chocolate batter as it rests. To make a proper half-n-half, there was this fine line of filling and baking which we had to trial and error. My hubby and I took a batter each and filled them simultaneously, and I must say that with his help it turned out pretty well.  You can do it on your own too, either by using separate piping bags and filling, or buy pouring them together if you can multitask well.

As the preparation of the batter for both flavors are different, I have provided their recipes separately. You can either use only one flavour, or try out a half-n-half like I did, and if you would like to go a step further make a marble cake style by giving it a swirl.

To make your cake super soft, light and moist, do not overbake them.    Once the cake cools down, you can top them for decoration in many ways, I did a butterscotch frosting with chocolate sprinkles and it tasted good. I used a readymade butterscotch frosting this time, will surely attempt my own recipe and post it soon.

Prep time        : 50 minutes
Serves              : 24 cupcakes

 INGREDIENTS

For Vanilla Cupcake :

Flour                              : 1 ½ cup
Baking powder            : 1 ½ teaspoon
Salt                                  : ¼ teaspoon
Eggs                                : 2 (cooled at room temp.)
Sugar                              : 2/3 cup
Butter                             : 6 oz (melted at room temp.)
Milk                                : ½ cup
Vanilla extract              : 2 teaspoon

For Chocolate Cupcake :

Flour                                               : ¾ cup
Cocoa powder (unsweetened) : ½ cup
Baking powder                            : ½ teaspoon
Baking soda                                  : ¾ teaspoon
Salt                                                  : ¼ teaspoon
Eggs                                                 : 2
Granulated sugar                         : ½ cup
Brown sugar                                  : ½ cup
Oil                                                     : 1/3 cup
Vanilla extract                               : 2 teaspoon
Buttermilk                                      : ½ cup

Cupcake liners
Chocolate sprinkles
Butterscotch icing

INSTRUCTIONS

For Vanilla Cupcake :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange the baking pan with the cupcake liners.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, and salt. Keep aside.
4. In another bowl, add sugar and eggs (cooled at room temperature) and beat till it becomes light and foamy.
5. Mix the butter and vanilla extract and whisk.
6. Add the dry ingredients into this mixture in portions, alternating with milk and stir. Do not overmix the batter.
7. To ensure equal sized cupcakes, fill each liner in the pan to the same level, at about half way to avoid spilling when baking. Bake for 16 – 20 minutes, or till a toothpick when inserted in the center of a cake, comes out clean.
8. Cool the cupcake in a rack for 10 minutes.

For Chocolate Cupcake :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange the baking pan with the cupcake liners.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the dry ingredients; cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Keep aside.
4. In another bowl, mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs (one at a time). Add oil and mix well.
5. Add the dry ingredients into this mixture in portions, alternating with buttermilk and stir. Do not overmix the batter.
6. To ensure equal sized cupcakes, fill each liner in the pan to the same level, at about half way to avoid spilling when baking. Bake for 16 – 20 minutes, or till a toothpick when inserted in the center of a cake, comes out clean.
7. Cool the cupcake in a rack for 10 minutes.

 Chocolate cup cake recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Preparation of  a Half-n-Half Vanilla Chocolate cupcake :

1. Follow the instructions of both vanilla and chocolate cupcake batter preparation till the 5^th step.
6. The only difference here is how you pour both batters together. You can either take someone’s assistance in adding one of the batters while you add the other simultaneously. Or if you can manage on your own, fill the two batters in different piping bags and pipe them together into the liner. Also, if you prefer a marble cake style, add the batters one after the other and give it one swirl.
7. Follow the remaining steps as instructed earlier.

Decorate with butterscotch frosting and chocolate sprinkles.

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