Spring Honey-Vanilla Cupcakes

These scrumptious honey vanilla cupcakes have a burst of honey flavor to complement the vanilla, with a moist crumb and a sweet and tangy honey-cream cheese frosting. The frosting can be colored in a rainbow of hues for a vibrant presentation to celebrate the Spring Holidays.</br></br>Yield: 12 cupcakes Active</br>Time: 30 minutes</br> Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup Golden Blossom® Honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces regular cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup Golden Blossom® honey

3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more as needed

food coloring (optional)

Honey Tips

Honey Is One of the Oldest Foods

Honey is one of the oldest foods in existence. It was found in the tomb of King Tut and was still edible since honey never spoils.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together sugar, honey, vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just combined and no dry ingredients or large lumps remain (a few lumps are ok, the batter won’t be completely smooth).
Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of batter into each cup, taking care not to overfill. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until tops are lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, then remove cupcakes from tin and allow to cool completely.
To prepare frosting, cream butter and cream cheese in electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Beat in honey. Slowly add 3 cups of confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in food coloring if desired. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.
Note that if your kitchen is particularly warm, this frosting may be too soft to pipe, in which case you can add more powdered sugar if necessary to achieve a pipeable consistency. Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to firm it up a bit. You can also replace 1/4 cup of the butter with unflavored vegetable shortening to stabilize it even further.