A Simple Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

 

I love a good spot of baking, and this Sunday evening, I decided to bake some cupcakes, as I didn't have a post planned this Sunday, I thought this would make a nice one :)

 

So, lets begin :)

 

Preparation Time: 20 Minutes

Time to Cook: 25 Minutes

Serves: 12 

 

YOU WILL NEED...

 

 

Equipment

*1 large mixing bowl/Electric Food Processor (mixer)

*1 smaller bowl

*Wooden spoon (if stirring cake mixture by hand)

*1 table spoon

*1 tea spoon

*1 knife

*12 cupcake/muffin cases

*12 cake muffin tray

*Weighing scales

 

Ingredients

For the cake mixture:

*110g Margarine (at room temperature)

*110g Caster sugar

*2 Medium sized eggs

*1tsp Vanilla extract

*110g Self raising flour

*1-2 tbsp Milk

*Chocolate chips (optional)

 

For the butter icing:

*140g Margarine (at room temperature)

*280g Icing sugar

*1-2 tbsp Milk

*1tsp Vanilla extract

*Food colouring (optional)

*and anything else you wish to decorate your cakes with

 

 

 

STEP 1: CREAMING THE BUTTER & SUGAR

 

Firstly, you need to pre-heat your oven, set it on gas mark 4 (180C/350F), I would also line your muffin tray with the paper cases in readiness for the final steps :)

 

Once you've done that, you'll need to stir the margarine until its of a light and fluffy consistency, then add the caster sugar and mix until it you're confident its all been stirred in properly.

 

STEP 2: ADD THE EGGS & FLAVOURING

 

 

Add the 2 eggs and beat them into the mixture, it will look a little watery at first, but don't panic. Once you're happy that the eggs has been mixed in well, add the vanilla extract and stir again!

 

STEP 3: FOLD THE FLOUR & ADD THE MILK

 

 

Its important at this point to fold in the flour using a large spoon, don't mix it at first as you'd be in danger of beating the air out of the mixture and your cakes won't rise. Afterwards, add the milk and mix again until the mixture is of dripping consistency (refer to the photo below).

 

 

 

STEP 4: FINAL PREPPING BEFORE BAKING

 

At this point, you can add some chocolate chips into the cake mixture if you so wish, I did as I thought it would add a little something. You could also put in some cocoa powder if you'd like, but again, its entirely up to you :)

 

 

Once you're happy with your mixture, get your table spoon and start filling your cake cases with mixture, only fill them half way, they'll rise remember ;) oh, and no need to adjust the temperature.

 

 

 

STEP 5: TIDY UP A TAD

 

Its always a good idea to clear up a little while your cakes are cooking, wash everything you've used, so you can use the same items again when making the icing, you can use the same mixing bowl and spoon if you wish, it saves on the washing up later :) also take this time to put away all the ingredients you've used and get out the ones you'll need to make the butter cream :)

 

STEP 6: START ON THE ICING

 

You'll need to mix the butter until it reaches a smooth and fluffy consistency, then add the icing sugar, if you feel it looks a bit watery after mixing, simply add some more icing sugar :) When you're happy, add some milk and mix until light and creamy.

 

This would also be the time to add some food colouring if you want, don't leave the icing to set, keep stirring it so it remains more of an Angel Delight texture.

 

STEP 7: COOL THE CUPCAKES

 

When the cakes are ready, take them out of the oven and leave them in the tin to cool for about 7-10 minutes, then you'll need to put them on a cooling rack for another 10-12 minutes. Don't try and ice them when they're still warm or the icing will simply melt off.

 

STEP 8: ICE THE CUPCAKES

 

You can use a piping bag for this if you so wish, I was going to, but my icing sugar wasn't the right consistency so I simply spooned the icing onto the cakes with a tea spoon.

 

STEP 9: DECORATE THEM!

 

When you're done icing them, you'll need to get decorating almost straight away while the icing is still wet, otherwise, any sprinkles etc will just roll off the cake. You can use anything you want to decorate the cakes, I used Hundreds & Thousands, and the left over chocolate chips, but you could decorate them with sprinkles, skittles, M&Ns, Smarties, Magic Stars, Chocolate Buttons, Raisins, basically anything you want, go all out and make them look amazing :)

 

 

 

STEP 10: EAT THEM

 

Now, go and grab a cup of tea (or coffee), go and snuggle on the sofa with a blanket, your dog (if you have one) and a cupcake, stick on one of your favourite films and enjoy :)

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and its inspired you to make some yourself, if you do, tag me on Instagram (@heartbritishthings - link below or in the side bar), or tag me on Twitter (@thesweetpeax - link below or in the side bar) with all your photos so I can see :)

 

See you Wednesday with a brand new blog post :)

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