Yellow cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Preparation method

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas 4 and line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended - about two minutes.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the vanilla and beat for two more minutes. If the eggs are cold, the mixture may look slightly curdled.

4. On a low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing to incorporate it, then mix in the milk until smooth. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until it is just incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

5. Fill each paper liner with a quarter of a cup of batter (1cm/½in below the top of the liner) – you can use an ice cream scoop for this. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the cupcakes from the pan onto the wire rack and leave to cool completely.

6. For the frosting, using an electric mixer on a low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract in a large bowl until smoothly blended - about one minute. Add the icing sugar and continue mixing on medium speed until the frosting is smooth - about one minute.

7. To frost the cupcakes, use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe thick swirls of frosting over the top of each cupcake. Or use a small metal spatula to spread about two tablespoons of frosting over the top of each cupcake. Use the spatula to swirl the top of the frosting to make a little curlicue on the top of the frosting.

30 mins to 1 hour preparation time

10 to 30 mins cooking time

Makes 12