Ingredients

1 c. sugar

1 ¾ c. cake flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ c. real unsalted butter (half a stick)

2 eggs

1/3 c. sour cream (Cupcake Project recommends full fat)

¼ c. vegetable oil

1 tsp. almond extract

2/3 c. heavy cream

1 cup chocolate chips

½ c. walnuts

To start, add the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the mixer. Mix until incorporated. Then add the butter. I added mine cold and made sure to lock down my mixer and start on low speed – otherwise the flour will go flying! Let it beat until a fine crumb forms. While the mixer is running, mix in a separate bowl the eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil and almond extract. Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. When everything is just mixed (don’t over mix), slowly add the heavy cream. Next, mix in by hand chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill cupcake cups about ½ full and bake at 350 for around 19 minutes. In the original recipe the bake time is much lower (around 15 minutes), but I found with the addition of walnuts and chocolate chips, it takes a little longer. Just monitor it every couple of minutes and check with a toothpick.

Frosting

Beat the snot out of one stick of cold butter. Add one brick of cold cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add one cup powdered sugar. Beat. Add 3 tbsp. of honey and beat. Do not overbeat otherwise you’re frosting will get too warm and not stand up on your cupcakes.

I really wanted to top this cupcake with candied walnuts… however, after two attempts, a dwindling supply of walnuts, and a short attention span, I gave up and topped them with toasted walnuts and some shaved chocolate.

***If you’d like to see the original Ultimate Vanilla recipe, here is the link:http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/09/ultimate-vanilla-cupcake-test-baked-by.html