Basic Vanilla Cupcakes

The cooking time excludes the time to decorate as this really depends on how elaborate you want the icing and decorating to be.  As a general guide, once the cupcakes are cool, it will take about 15 minutes or so to prepare the fondant or buttercream icing.

This recipe makes 12 plain, flat topped cupcakes for icing. I have included the method for fondant and buttercream icings below.  Fondant icing will give you a smooth, glossy top and buttercream will give you a more rustic icing which can be piped to create the very popular “swirled” effect.

By cooking the cupcakes at a low temperature for slightly longer than many recipes suggest, the tops remain flat and easier to ice.

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C Fan or 150°C.
2. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper or foil cupcake cases.  (The ones in the picture are 7.5cm across the top and 4cm deep).
   
3. Put all of the ingredients except the milk into a large bowl and beat them together with electric beaters. (You can use a food processor or a free standing mixer instead if you prefer).
    
4. Add the milk and mix in.  Give the sides of the bowl a good scrape down with a spoon or spatula to make sure everything is mixed in.
   
5. Spoon the mixture into the cases evenly so each one has roughly the same amount – approximately half full.
   
6. Cook for 40 minutes.
   
   If for any reason your cupcakes have a slightly domed top, you can always use a knife to remove it so you have a flat surface to ice.

To Ice the Cupcakes

This is the fun bit!  Once the cupcakes are cool you can use a fondant icing or a buttercream icing to finish the cupcakes.  The design can be as simple or elaborate as you want.

Fondant Icing

1. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add the water, mixing the icing sugar in until you have a slightly runny consistency (see the picture below). You can add any food colouring or flavouring at this stage if you want but do add very small amounts as it is much easier to add more colour or flavouring than it is to correct any overuse!
   
2. One by one, spoon a teaspoon or two of icing on top of each cupcake, picking the cupcake up and gently turning it at an angle to make sure that the entire top of the cupcake is covered in icing.  You can give the cupcake a gentle tap on the bench to remove any air bubbles.
   
3. Place any decorations on top of the icing while it is still wet. It will slightly harden when it dries.  You can use sweets or real or icing flowers.  I used store bought icing flowers to decorate the ones in the picture.  You can buy a large variety of edible decorations online.
   

Buttercream Icing

1. Put the softened butter into a large bowl and using electric beaters, beat it for 3-5 minutes until it has become pale and smooth.
   
2. Add the icing sugar a third at a time, beating after each addition. (You can drape a damp tea towel over the top of the bowl while you beat if you find there is a lot of icing sugar dust coming from the bowl).
   
3. Add the vanilla extract and the milk and beat into the icing mixture.  You should have a smooth and soft, spreadable consistency.
   
4. You can either spread this icing on using a pallet knife or knife or you can pipe the icing with a piping bag and piping nozzle.