In honor of November 10th being National Vanilla Cupcake day, we decided to search for a honey-vanilla cupcake recipe to try. This incredible (and easy!) recipe from Stress Baking did not disappoint. While the honey and vanilla flavors were subtle, they certainly were not overwhelming, and the two ingredients created wonderfully succulent cupcakes. 

Note: The recipe yields 24 mini cupcakes, but we were able to get 16 regular sized cupcakes. 

Honey + Vanilla Cupcakes

[Makes 24 mini cupcakes]Cupcakes:
1/2 cup buttermilk*
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting:
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
Sprinkles (optional, for garnish)
24 pieces of Honeycomb cereal (optional, for garnish)

1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a mini muffin pan with liners, or spray with non-stick spray and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well combined.
3) In a medium bowl, mix together buttermilk, honey and vanilla. Set aside.
4) In a separate medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
5) Add eggs to large bowl with butter mixture and beat well.
6) Add half of the dry ingredient mixture and mix well, then add half of the wet mixture and mix well. Repeat for the remaining mixtures.
7) Fill each cup of prepared pan 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of one of the mini cupcakes should come out clean.

8) Let cupcakes cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then move to cooling rack to cool completely.

While cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting!

9) In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese until well combined. It’s easiest to slice the butter and cream cheese into small cubes to make this process go more quickly and smoothly.
10) Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing well in between each addition.
11) Add honey and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
12) Frost cupcakes as desired (I used a piping bag with a decorative tip for mine), add sprinkles and top with a piece of Honeycomb cereal. Enjoy!

HeyHoney, this recipe was written by Leslie the Stress Baker. To view this recipe with photos, and other recipes, please go to her website at http://stressbaking.com/2014/02/honey-vanilla-cup...