Cupcakes
This easy cupcake recipe is so simple to make. Decorate with a swirl of delicious buttercream frosting. A perfect cupcakes recipe for kids to make on their own or with a little help. If you want to make a bigger batch of cupcakes, use our cake calculator to automatically calculate the quantities.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 110g/4oz butter or margarine, softened at room temperature
- 110g/4oz caster sugar
- 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 110g/4oz self-raising flour
- 1-2 tbsp milk
For the buttercream icing
- 140g/5oz butter, softened
- 280g/10oz icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- a few drops food colouring
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cupcake cases.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale. Beat in the eggs a little at a time and stir in the vanilla extract.
Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little milk until the mixture is of a dropping consistency. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases until they are half full.
Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
For the buttercream icing, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Then add the remaining icing sugar with one tablespoon of the milk, adding more milk if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the food colouring and mix until well combined.
Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the icing using a spiralling motion onto the cupcakes in a large swirl.
Recipe Tips
You can also bake these as fairy cakes. It will make 12 smaller cupcakes. You can customise the flavour of your cupcakes by substituting the grated zest of half a lemon or orange in place of the vanilla extract.
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