Vanilla Cupcakes

i like a good vanilla cupcake, me. a good, moist, fine crumbed, delicately flavoured, simple tasting cupcake. so, i'm not after much. i daresay i haven't yet reached the epitamy of vanilla cupcakes, and have a long way to go - but this is the recipe my old ma gave to me when we started baking, and after a few tweaks, i think it'll take a lot to knock this one off the top spot.

the icing sugar and milk are there because i had originally planned to do a simple vanilla buttercream to go on top, but i had to chocolate frosting left over from the main birthday cake, so i just used that up :)

you're looking to introduce a lot of air into the mixture. with muffins, you mix it as little as possible, with cupcakes you really want to whip that bad boy to get a good thick batter that you just know will produce a good airy sponge.

i like putting cupcake cases in my silicon tray instead of my metal one because it make the cupcakes taller rather than having them spread out, which isn't all that attractive.

i seem to have mislaid my final picture of the plain, un-iced cupcakes :( but rest assured, it made 30 or so cupcakes, all looking like regular, vanilla flavoured cupcakes.

Ingredients;
3 eggs
the weight of those 3 eggs in self raising flour
" in caster sugar
" in butter
a splash or two of vanilla extract

cream together the butter and sugar until really whippy and pale cream coloured.
mix in the eggs and vanilla extract.
mix in the flour in 3 parts.
turn the mixer up high, or just whisk really hard, for a minute or so until thick and air filled.
spoon into cupcake cases.
bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or so, until golden brown and springy.

finish off with an icing and sprinkles of your choice. yumsss

sarahh xxx