Cupcake Experiment #2 using Martha Stewart's Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes

Well, I am kicking myself in the butt a little right now as I literally two seconds ago as I wrote the blog title, realized I made Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes and NOT Vanilla Cupcakes as my intent. The Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book does not seem to find the plain 'ol "Vanilla Cupcake" quite worth its page space so instead they feature the Yellow Buttermilk Cupcake. Although the Buttermilk Cupcake is quite similar, it does in fact, have buttermilk. But anyway, close enough for the time being. Can anyone tell me what the major difference in taste would be between Martha Stewart's Vanilla and Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes? Recipe-wise it seems the Buttermilk recipe calls for more eggs, more cake flour, buttermilk and a little less butter. Will this drastically change the overall taste or only provide a different texture?

On to the experiment, I divided the recipe in two this time for an original batch and a Greek Yogurt infused batch. I set out all of my ingredients including milk, eggs and butter to warm to room temperature and prepared my egg yolks while they were still cold as I read this will allow the yolk and whites to separate easier. Then you know, I kind of shook things up, did a little dance, walked around a bit, jammed to music, got my heart pumping and prepared for another day of tasting batters and cupcakes while not adding to my "sleek" figure.

Cupcakes are a funny thing. They always look mouth watering delicious and scrumptious but a lot of times they don't pass muster. Sometimes the frosting is too overwhelming to taste the cake or the cake cannot pull its own weight as part of a team (the cake and the frosting) but since our eyes play a major part in the experience of a cupcake, we are tricked into believing a beautifully decorated cupcake is delicious as well. I probably cannot count the number of truly great cupcakes I have had on one hand but I can tell you the frosting always looks pretty.


I mixed my cupcakes per the recipe instructions and added 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt to one batch, roughly 15 cupcakes. The bake time for the yogurt infused cupcakes was 2 minutes longer than the original batch as to be expected. Upon completion, the Greek Yogurt infused Martha Stewart Buttermilk Cupcakes held their "cupcake" shape a bit better than the yogurt infused JoyofBaking.com's Vanilla Cupcakes. Overall, both the original and yogurt infused Martha Stewart Buttermilk Cupcakes felt a little heavier and a bit more dense than the JoyofCooking.com's Vanilla Cupcakes. The yogurt infused JoyofBaking.com's Vanilla Cupcake on left and yogurt infused Martha Stewart Yellow Buttermilk Cupcake on right.

In a taste test, the original Buttermilk Cupcakes had a sweet corn bread like taste and similar texture in my opinion while the yogurt infused Buttermilk Cupcakes were more moist. However, while the texture was fairly similar to the original, the exterior of the cupcake was thicker and not quite as easy to cut with a fork thus making it not so much a winner in my book. Compared to the JoyofBaking.com's cupcakes, overall, the Martha Stewart's Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes were more moist in general which can probably be attributed to the use of egg yolks in the recipe. Egg yolks contribute to a spongier and more moist texture.
Head to head, the yogurt infused Martha Stewart Buttermilk Cupcake vs. the yogurt infused JoyofBaking.com's Vanilla Cupcake... both were moist cupcakes, however, the MS Buttermilk was more moist. Since I was not a fan of the texture though, I would definitely have to tweak the amount of yogurt added. I believe I may be able to achieve similar results if I substituted some of the egg in the JoyofBaking.com's Vanilla Cupcake with egg yolks.
This experiment is definitely a learning experience. If you taste the batter, you can definitely distinguish between the flavors and while none of the cupcakes are winners yet, I am learning what works and what doesn't and through research, why it works out as it does. Oh and eating lots of yummy cupcakes! You can tell we enjoyed the yogurt infused cupcakes (in the yellow wrappers) more than the original versions!)

Martha Stewart's Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes
* 3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
* 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.