Lorraine’s fabulous vanilla cupcakes
Before Covid we organised a major family festivity. My sister and brother-in-law both had special birthdays, and also a golden wedding to celebrate all in the same year. She, and all our nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and nephews, came to ‘ours’ for the weekend and we organise a weekend of festivities, all based around a golden theme.
There were quite a lot of us, we had a magnificent cake, but for other meals it seemed easier to have individual cup cakes.
I sought advice from a colleague who is the world expert on cupcakes. Whenever an occasion arises where they might be enjoyed, she is there bearing professionally stacked boxes of the most creative and glorious cupcakes you could imagine, all melt-in-the-mouth moments of pure enjoyment.
In the end she took pity on me. Catering for 25 for a weekend is a lot of hard work, and she shouldered the cupcake burden. But she did also, very generously, hand me the recipe. Here it is, years of trial and error, rolled into a few precious words to help you create heaven in a mouthful!
Lorraine’s fabulous vanilla cupcakes
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cupcakes
- 180g/¾ cup butter (room temperature)
- 3 eggs (room temperature)
- 350g/2 ½ cups self-raising flour
- 420g/1 ¾ cups caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons vanilla (add more for super vanilla taste)
- 300ml/1 ¼ cups of milk
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Ingredients for the frosting
- 180g/¾ cup softened butter
- 1,040g/8 cups of icing sugar
- 80 ml/1/3 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons Madagascar vanilla
Instructions
Method for the cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
- Stir together salt, baking powder and flour
- Beat butter with electric mixer on high for about 30 seconds. Add sugar and mix until
- Gradually add eggs and vanilla mixing all the time.
- Slowly add flour mixture and milk alternating between the two until all of the mixture
- has been added.
- Divide mixture between cupcakes and place in centre shelf of oven.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden brown.
- Cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from the tray.
- Beat butter together with some powdered sugar and vanilla and some milk. Alternate
- between adding sugar and milk until you are happy with the consistency.
- If the frosting is too thick add a little more milk, if too thin add a little more sugar.
