High Altitude White Velvet Cupcakes
Soft and fluffy white velvet cupcakes, flavored with butter and real vanilla bean, frosted with silky vanilla buttercream. Top with a white chocolate truffle for an elegant finish.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 3 egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled, then sifted
- 1 ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ¼ cups whole buttermilk, room temperature
Buttercream
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder (optional)
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk or cream, only if needed
- 20 white chocolate truffles, optional
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line standard-sized muffin pans with 20 paper liners. Lightly spray the liners with non-stick baking spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean paste on medium speed for 10 minutes (#6 on Kitchen Aid stand mixer), scraping the bowl occasionally when the mixture is sticking to the sides of the bowl.
- Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, beating each for 10 seconds before adding the next. Scrape the bowl down and beat for 10 more seconds.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Use a whisk to give the batter a good whisk for 5-10 seconds and mix in any lumps of flour.
- Use a scant 1/4 cup measuring cup to fill the cups no more than 2/3 full.You do not want to over-fill the cups, or the top edges of the cupcakes will spill over and form crusty brown edges.
- Bake the cupcakes on the center oven rack for about 15-16 minutes, just until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt and mix until combined.
- Add the vanilla and milk, increase the speed to medium high and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 2 minutes to get rid of air bubbles.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 2D or 1M, fill with buttercream, and pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. Top each with a white chocolate truffle.
Notes
Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
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