here the receipe of the vanilla flavour cupcakes!
This makes approximately 12 cakes
FOR THE SPONGE (the base)Ingredients:
110g unsalted butter - I use Anchor or Stork225g golden caster sugar
2 medium eggs150g self-raising flour, sifted
120g plain flour, sifted120ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tablespoon of good quality vanilla extractHow to make the cakes...
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C and make sure you have a shelf placed ready in the central part of the oven.Make sure your butter, eggs and milk are at ROOM TEMP. Especially the butter, this must be nice and soft :0)
Beat together the butter and the caster sugar in an electric mixer until they form a paste.Beat in the eggs. Break into a glass first to eliminate any bits of shell :0)
Sieve the self-raising flour and plain flour into the mixture a bit at a time. Mix well until all the ingredients are smooth.
Lastly, add the vanilla essence and pour in the milk slowly with a bit of stirring too.Spoon the mixture into cake-cases in a baking tray
(I find a tablespoon and teaspoon work well to fill these carefully and neatly!)Fill the cases to just over half way so they theres no risk of them spilling over as they rise.
Bake in the centre of your preheated oven at 160' for 22-26 mins. Keep an eye on them from 20 minutes (set a timer!), cooking time will depend on your oven.
Note!: To check if they are cooked, press the tops gently with a finger. If you leave a dent give them another minute or two, if the sponge springs back into shape they are ready. Dome people insert a cocktail stick into the middle and if it comes out clean you know they are done.They dont need to start looking too brown on top to be cooked, they will be lighter and more moist if you get them out before they start browning and going hard on top.Once removed from oven, transfer onto a cooling rack asap.
FOR THE FROSTING (ICING):
Ingredients:1 small block unsalted butter
400g (minimum) of icing sugar, sifteda splash of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extractFor colour: a TINY drop of food colouring gel.
How to make the frosting...Beat together the butter and icing sugar in a mixer - slowly sifting in the icing sugar a bit at a time.
Add a dash of the milk as you go as this helps to get the butter & sugar moving and binding together well.Beat the icing mixture very well! The smoother and fluffier it will become.
Add your vanilla essence at the end and mix in well.Add food colouring if required, a little at a time, adding more colouring until you get the shade you want.
Enjoy!!
Love, J
