Vanilla Cupcakes

By á-32896

Makes 12 yummy cupcakes!

Ingredients

• 125 g butter, softened
• 125 g castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence
• 1 cup (140 g) self raisong flour
• 2 tbsp(30 ml) milk
• Buttercream icing
• 125 g butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups (210 g) icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) milk
• 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence
• food colouring of choice
• Meringue icing
• 4 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• a pinch of salt
• a drop food colouring of choice

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcuis. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper cups. in a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale in colour. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Sift in half the flour, add the milk and then the remaining flour. Mix well. Spoon the batter equally into the paper cups and bake for 16-18 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan. Once cool, pipe your icing of choice onto the cupcakes.

Buttercream icing
In a bowl of an electric mixer, with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until pale in colour and creamy. Add the icing sugar and half of the milk. Mix well, then add the vanilla essence and food colouring (to the desired shade). If the mixture is too firm, add the rest of the milk and beat until it reaches your desired consistency.

Meringue icing
I the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg whites, sugar and salt. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and hand-whisk continuously for 3-5 minutes umtil the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Attach the bowl to the electric miwer with the whisk attachment, and beat on low for 2 minutes.Add a drop of food colouring, then beat on high for a furthur 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled down and stiff peaks form. Use immediately