OK, you’re either going to love me or hate me that I’m sharing this recipe with you.

You’ll love me because it’s SO simple to make that you could easily do this every night of the week – even those nights where you come home too tired to cook.

You’ll hate me because it’s SO simple to make that you could easily do this every night of the week – and you’re trying to be good since it’s the new year and you made that resolution to try to lose weight.

As I said a few weeks ago, I have become addicted to Pinterest, a new social sharing site where you can find tons of fun things to make, eat, DIY, read or wear. You can follow me here.

I found this recipe from HowSweetEats.com for One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes for Two because we were headed away for Christmas. I was bringing a fancy treat but my sister-in-law is pretty basic and just likes vanilla. I didn’t want to have to bake a full 24 vanilla cupcakes so this recipe was just perfect for one!

I have now made this twice and it’s awesome! I don’t dirty more than one bowl, I can mix it by hand (yes! I don’t have to dirty my hand mixer!), I don’t have two dozen cuppies sitting around the house since it’s just the two of us and I can easily get rid of leftover frosting from other recipes.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!!

Vanilla Cupcakes for Two
from How Sweet Eats

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon of baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk (I have actually substituted almond milk on one occasion and the recipe worked out just fine with no difference in the taste)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with two liners. In a bowl, add egg white and sugar, whisk until combined. Add in vanilla and melted butter and stir until mixed. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in milk. Pour into the two cupcake liners.

Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cake is set. Let cool completely and frost.

Simple Vanilla Buttercream for Two Cuppies

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon milk
• really small pinch salt, optional

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. Add in milk as needed until you reach your desired consistency.

To make the swirl effect with the two different colors, prepare the decorating tip in your piping bag (I used a Wilton star shape). Then, dip a toothpick in your first color (I use gel food coloring) and make a few lines up along the sides of the bag. Then, do the same with a new toothpick and a different color, draw a few lines up the side of the bag. Now, take your vanilla buttercream and carefully place it in the bag.

To get the color flowing, start pumping it out on paper towel. You’ll see it gradually start to swirl. Once you have achieved your desired effect, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

These make a great present for someone who loves simple desserts. You can find cupcake boxes at stores like Michael’s that are just perfect for gift-giving. Enjoy!