Sour Cream Spice Cupcakes

Yesterday, I made these yummy cupcakes and iced them with cream cheese icing.


Taken from The Joy of Cooking.

Yield: 18 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have all ingredients at room temperature. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk thoroughly in a bowl:
1 3/4 c. sifted cake flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Beat in a large bowl until creamy:
5 tbsp unsalted butter

Gradually add and beat until light, 3 to 5 minutes:
1 c. packed brown sugar

Beat in:
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with:
1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
in two parts, beating until smooth.

Using clean beaters, beat at in a medium bowl medium-high speed until stiff but not dry:
2 large egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites. Fold into the finished batter:
3/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Fill muffin cups about two-thirds full. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve plain or iced.