the (almost) perfect pink cupcake

So I made these cupcakes. They were going to be the quintessential cupcake: a moist, golden buttery cake with a fluffy hurt your teeth sweet pink buttercream. The cake part was an absolute success. It was as yummy and buttery as one of those Duncan Hines boxed butter cakes that I grew up on with none of the chemical aftertaste. The success of the buttercream depends on where you come down on the dessert debate. For those who claim they don't have too much of a sweet tooth, this buttercream was perfect. It was light, voluminous, and on the lighter side of the sweet meter. But, for those of us, myself definitely included, who like desserts to have a knock-your-socks off sweetness, this was not it. My sweet tooth and I have come to realize that we need to find a buttercream that pretty much mimics the dense, overly sweet, vegetable shortening buttercreams that can be found on grocery store sheetcakes. If anyone has any recipes they care to share, let me know!

You can download my PDF version of the recipe here.