I've tried & tried but can't come up with the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe. I love the flavor of Ina Garten's flower cupcakes but can't get a good shape. I've been using this one because I like the flavor w/sour cream and the oil keeps them nice & moist but it's not a "wow" cupcake. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla, or add another flavor
1 cup sour cream
I would love to use some butter instead of oil but does that also mess with the amount of sour cream because of the percentage of milk solids? I'm not a pastry chef, just a diy-er, so making substitutions is a bit intimidating. Can you suggest specific substitions? I'd be willing to try them & post the results.
I love the Magnolia Bakery Vanilla cupcake recipe - Google should find it, it's been posted online many times. It's secret is lots and lots of sugar and real butter - I think you can't beat the flavour of butter in a 'plain' cake. I use vanilla paste rather than extract, gives a great flavour and I like the look of the vanilla seeds.
I'm with you on the hunt! Yesterday, I tried Billy's Vanilla Cupcake recipe (from Billy's Bakery in NYC). The flavor got good reviews (I substituted vanilla bean paste for the extract), but I wasn't happy with how they looked on the outside. If I make them again, I'll fill the cup only about 1/2 full. I filled the cups about 2/3 full, and as this cupcake doesn't dome...when the batter reached the top of the cup, it spilled out over the edge. It also had a slightly hardened crust that I didn't care for. (I didn't overbake them.) 
I'm on this hunt too. So far it seems I can have either taste or shape nit both!
I've been told that Peggy Porschen's vanilla cake/cupcake recipe is really good but I haven't tried it.
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