Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes... Again!

My cousin Stephanie L. (the one from North Carolina) stayed at my house for the past 2 weeks. She is the most fabulous person on this earth. She's always fun to be around, and she's a great partner in the kitchen. She's funny and she loves to do dishes! Last weekend she went home. I've been pretty sad, because now I'm back to my normal life of having nothing to do until Josh gets home from work around 7. I was really uninspired to make cupcakes Tuesday. I almost used a box of plain yellow cake mix, but we didn't have any. So I settled on Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes. I've made them a few times, and I really like the recipe. The flavor is fabulous. But they always come out a tiny bit dry. I check them a few times near the end of the baking time, and I take them out as soon as a toothpick comes out dry (duh, I know how to bake). But they're always slightly dry and crumbly. Does anyone else have that problem with this recipe? The cake flour is probably the reason behind the fine crumbs. And I know cakes made with butter instead of oil are usually a little less moist. If you get a big mouthful of cake and frosting, you can't tell, but I always like to taste-test the cake by itself to form a fair opinion. Anyways, maybe I'm just weird. Here are some photos and the recipe (for like the 3rd time). The frosting is "Special Vanilla Buttercream." You can find the recipe in the drop-down menu on the left side of the page.

IngredientsCombine all the dry ingredients (including sugar) in the mixing bowl.Add softened butter 1 piece at a time.Add liquid ingredients in three parts.Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl often.Fill cupcake pans and bake.This is a familiar sight in the laundry room every Tuesday! =]Mmm... cooling and smelling so tasty!Topped with vanilla frosting. Delish!Inside!

Recipe from marthastewart.com

MY NOTES: I reduced the sugar to 1 1/2 cups, and they were still plenty sweet. I got 23 cupcakes. Don't forget to rotate the pans halfway through. Mine baked for 18 minutes.

Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 24-ish (I got 23, Martha's site says it makes 30, hmm?)

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoons
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour (Make sure the butter pieces are no larger than a peanut).
In a large measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl with each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat (I finished mixing with a rubber spatula after the last addition of wet ingredients).
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (I topped mine with Special Vanilla Buttercream. You can find the recipe in the drop-down menu on the left side of the page.)

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 4
Tenderness: 4
Frosting: 4