Cupcakes

This is a simple recipe for one of my favourite things to bake (and eat!) I love to decorate them and I always think they look really pretty. Anyway, this is just a simple but full-proof recipe for cupcakes. Either vanilla or chocolate ones. Really easy to bake and then you can have lots of fun decorating them, they work for birthdays, holidays or just because. Makes 12 -18 depending on how big your muffin cases are.

Ingredients:

200g Butter or Margarine
200g Caster (Golden) Sugar
200g Self-raising flour
4 eggs
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla extract

For the chocolate version have 180g of self-raising flour and between 20-40g of cocoa powder depending on how chocolatey you want them.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°c or Gas Mark 5.
2. Cream butter and sugar together.
3. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl to get lots of air in.
4. Weigh all the dry ingredients in another bowl and mix together.
5. Add the vanilla extract to the butter and sugar then about a quarter of the eggs. Beat together and add some flour if the mixture starts to curdle. Keep doing this until all the egg is combined with the butter and sugar.
6. Slowly add the flour and fold in with a large metal spoon so not to overwork the gluten, this will help your cupcakes rise.
7. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, a little over half way to account for rising. Try and make sure they're all level so you can achieve a nice effect when they're displayed.
8. Bake for between 15 - 20 minutes depending on how big your cupcakes are.
9. Leave to cool completely before decorating otherwise your hard work will just melt!

Display your cupcakes in a fun way, my favourite is a stand that my mum got us and they just look fantastic.

- Emma xxx