mini birthday treats for mills: vanilla cupcakes

thanks to TW for sharing http://cupcakeblog.com/ with me a few years ago.  i had just started getting into exploring the small treats and this opened up a whole realm of possibilities!  all the cupcakes are filled with a complimenting (although u may never put them together) flavour that just go well and down right yummy.  my first creations were the strawberry ganache and lavender cupcakes and referred back to the site recently in prepping for a girly din.  although i only got as far as the vanilla cupcake this time around, i still gained a great recipe for a basic sponge (and it turned out well even though i did a sloppy job of splitting the yolk and white..hooray!).  as time was running low i topped them with a basic cream cheese frosting and sprinkles, but still made for a pretty and nostalgic birthday treat. 

the ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
3/4 cups sugar
1 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites


the preparation:
1.  soften butter in the mixer on high speed
2. drizzle the sugar in with the butter and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes
3. sift flour, baking powder, and salt together
4. measure out milk and vanilla
5. add the flour mixture and milk mixture to the butter/sugar in 3 parts alternating between flour and milk and beating well after each addition
6. set aside incorporated mixture
7. in a clean mixer bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form
8. fold egg whites into cake batter until incorporated
9. scoop batter into the prepared cupcake pans
10. bake in the 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean