Vanilla Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
From: http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/2008/05/vanilla-cupcakes.html
Vanilla Cupcakes: from Amy Sedaris's I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put paper liners in your pan.
Put butter in an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until somewhat smooth. Pour in sugar and beat well. Add the eggs and mix well. Add in vanilla, baking powder, salt, flour, and milk. Beat until it looks like it's supposed to and pour into baking cups, until they are about 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Frost when cool.

Soft Vanilla Bean Buttercream: from Cupcake Bakeshop

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 vanilla bean (**I use 1 vanilla bean)
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Sift powdered sugar into the mixer bowl (right on top of the beaten butter). Beat to combine.
Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the frosting. Add the vanilla and the milk. Beat until combined.

The Nutella cupcakes use the same batter and frosting recipes. Before baking, add a big glob (1 tablespoon or so) of Nutella to each cupcake filled with batter. Use toothpicks, chopsticks, knives or anything like that to mix the Nutella into the batter a little bit (like marbling). For the frosting, I added ½ a cup or so of Nutella and mixed well. I made two batches of cupcake batter but only one of frosting—using half for vanilla frosting and half for Nutella was plenty. (You can find Nutella in most supermarkets…often they keep it near the peanut butter.)