Garden Cupcakes – perfecting my vanilla cupcake recipe

I love to bake with the girls and Georgie’s favourite thing to bake is, without a doubt, cupcakes. I have been trying out different recipes for our cupcakes and have ended up with this yummy & light recipe that is pretty much baking-with-kids-foolproof.

I can always depend on James’s co-workers to demolish any excess baked treats, so I decided to do a double batch to test my latest version of the recipe (details available below), so that we could do lots of cake decorating (Georgie’s favourite bit!) and use two different icings.

I weighed out the ingredients while the girls were eating lunch and then Georgie helped me count in the eggs and spoonfuls of things. Although sometimes I do get Georgie to help read out the numbers on the scales, my scales are getting a bit dodgy and have to be treated gently so I coaxed them into working while Georgie was safely distracted!

Georgie did her usual stellar job of popping the cupcake cases into the tins and then directed me as I dolloped the mixture in. She waited impatiently for the cakes to bake & cool, and for me to whip up the two types of icing, before getting stuck in decorating. We used a mixture of Cake Angels and Dr Oetker decorations, along with cupcake cases & picks I found at a bargain store.

A dozen of these “garden cupcakes” stayed at home and disappeared within days, with the second dozen heading into Co-operative Web for some serious recipe testing. Favourable reports from all involved in trying them out, I hear!

I think I am officially done faffing about with different variations on my vanilla cupcake recipe, these were delicious. Now, what to bake next?

Vanilla Cupcakes

Yields 12

Prep Time: 15 min

 Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients (cupcakes)

• 110g/4oz self-raising flour
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• 110g/4oz baking spread or butter at room temperature
• 15ml/1 tsp baking powder
• 15ml/1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

Ingredients (buttercream icing)

• 140g/5oz butter, softened
• 280g/10oz icing sugar
• 30ml/2 tbsp milk
• gel food colouring

Ingredients (glacé icing)

• 100g/4oz icing sugar
• 30ml/2 tbsp water (approx.)
• gel food colouring

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Break the eggs into a large bowl and add all the other ingredients.
3. Mix everything together until well combined – I use my kenwood k-mix stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer or wooden spoon.
4. Spoon evenly into 12 cupcake cases – you want them to be about half full.
5. Bake for around 15 minutes until golden-brown. To test the cakes press down gently on the top – it should spring back up.
6. Remove them from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the buttercream icing

1. Beat the butter in a bowl until soft.
2. Add half of the icing sugar & 1 tbsp of milk and beat until smooth.
3. Add the remaining icing sugar & 1tbsp of milk and beat until smooth.
4. Add food colouring if desired.
5. Put onto your cakes using either a spoon or palette knife, or by using an icing bag & nozzle.

For the glacé icing

1. Put the icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
2. Gradually add the water & stir in until you get the consistency you need.
3. Add food colouring if desired.
4. Use a spoon to pour onto your cakes, smoothing it to the edges with the back of the spoon before it begins to dry.

Notes

1. Each icing recipe makes enough to cover 12 cupcakes.
2. I prefer gel food colouring over liquid as it gives stronger colours and doesn’t flavour the mixture. They are becoming more commonly available in supermarkets now. Start by adding a tiny amount to your mixture and building up the colour to your desired shade.
3. Make sure your cakes are completely cool before icing as otherwise your icing will melt.
4. Try and cover all of the exposed top of your cake with your icing to create a seal – your cupcakes will stay deliciously moist for longer.