National Cupcake Week ~ Vanilla Cupcakes

This week has been National Cupcake Week to celebrate our love of cupcakes and the many wonderful and delicious recipes. I have a serious love affair with cupcakes and my kitchen is testament to it, I even named my pink kitchenaid mixer Cupcake. I haven’t baked any pretty cupcakes in a while and I wasn’t going to miss out on this perfect opportunity. I have tons of cupcake cookbooks but there was only one recipe in my mind and one that I felt that was only right that I baked, the Vanilla Cupcakes that Jules aka Rosie presented for our monthly bake at Sweet and Simple Bakes. Jules was a cupcake lover too and these cupcakes will forever remind me of my dear friend whom I miss. So I dedicate these cupcakes to her memory. As you can see these cupcakes are pink, girly and totally delish!

Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
1½ level tsp baking powder
175g (6 oz) butter, softened
175g (6 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
3 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream Icing
150g (5oz) butter, softened
300g (11 oz) icing (confectioners) sugar, sifted
1 tbsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Edible food colouring(s) of choice, optional
Sprinkle(s) for decoration of choice

You will also require 12 holed muffin tin lined with 12 paper muffin cases

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Sift the self-raising flour and baking powder into a large bowl, and then add the butter, caster sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Beat together until well mixes, trying not to over mix the mixture. Spoon the mixture equally into the prepared paper cases and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out to completely cool on a wire rack.

To make the buttercream, beat the butter until soft. Add the icing sugar and stir until it’s just mixed in, then add the milk and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Divide into as many bowls as you want different colour(s) and add edible food colouring (you only require a few drops). This is purely optional should you wish to leave out the edible food colouring(s) and keep the buttercream natural. Spread the icing on thickly with a palette knife on top of each cupcake or put the icing into a piping back and make a large swirl on top of each cupcake. Decorate each cupcake with your chosen sprinkle(s).