Pink Cupcakes -- Made From Scratch, Made With Love

First week of October. My birthday is Saturday and I will be twenty-four years old. The birthday reflections are becoming a tradition I keep with myself: every year in the first days of October I try to look at what the year has been. This year the answer is: Tyler. Everything else was already there and was still very good. Tyler was new.

I made myself the ribeye dinner again Saturday night, my solo birthday tradition from last year, but this time Tyler was at my kitchen table watching and I cooked the steak and roasted potatoes and poured two glasses of wine and we ate at the table with the candle I always light on this dinner. He asked if I always did this for myself before he was here and I said yes. He said good. I asked why good. He said because it means you know you are worth feeding well. I said yes. He said: I know that too. That is going to be my favorite thing anyone has ever said to me for a long time.

Sunday at Gloria's for the official birthday dinner: fried chicken and banana pudding, my stated favorites, same as every year. James sang off-key with great commitment and Tyler joined in enthusiastically, worse than James, which I did not think was possible. Gloria said she had made the pudding from scratch and I tasted it and it was perfect and she said nothing more about it except to pass the serving spoon. Forty-seven minutes of cooking that she cannot do anymore, and she still made the pudding. For me. I will not forget that.

Gloria’s banana pudding was made from scratch — forty-seven minutes of work she’s not supposed to be doing anymore — and that’s the part I keep coming back to. There’s something about a dessert someone makes with their hands, from real ingredients, that says something no candle or card quite manages to say. These pink cupcakes are my way of carrying that same intention forward: whenever I want to show up for someone the way Gloria showed up for me, this is the recipe I reach for — simple, pretty, and unmistakably made with care.

Pink Cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 24

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2–3 drops pink or red gel food coloring
• For the frosting:
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3–4 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2–3 drops pink gel food coloring
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
5. Add color. Mix in 2–3 drops of pink gel food coloring until the batter reaches your desired shade of pink.
6. Combine wet and dry. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk (begin and end with flour). Mix just until combined — do not overmix.
7. Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool completely. Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
9. Make the frosting. Beat softened butter on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until creamy. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low. Add cream, vanilla, salt, and food coloring. Beat on high for 2–3 minutes until fluffy and smooth. Adjust color or consistency as needed.
10. Frost and serve. Pipe or spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Top with sprinkles if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 115mg