Preheat the oven to 375F.

Cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

While still beating, add in the eggs one at a time.

Sift all of the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and stir to incorporate.

In yet another small bowl, add the vanilla and buttermilk.

Slowly add half of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture while beating, and then the buttermilk-vanilla mixture, and once fully incorporated, the final half of the dry ingredients.

Portion out into a lined cupcake pan and bake 15-20 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.

Wait until all ingredients are at room temperature before attempting to make the frosting.

To make the frosting, whip the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until completely smooth and then add in the icing sugar 1 cup at a time. I give a range because the frosting will work with either amount, so please adjust the icing sugar to your preference of sweetness.

For these cupcakes, I did a simple icing job with an offset spatula and topped with some pure chocolate jimmies, but the frosting is stiff enough that you could pipe it on.