Simple Cupcake Recipe with Easy Buttercream Icing

I have been waiting to test out my new toy…a white classic  Kitchen Aid for a couple of weeks now. I’ve just not felt in the mood to bake, in this hot weather. I think BBQ’s and salad should be my middle name at the moment! 😉

But I was sent a lovely gift of a cupcake stand and two aprons and a few cake decorating bits and pieces by the fab lifestyle website – Good To Know. Good To Know have some great articles and recipes on the site including a bake sale guide that you might like to read.

So Miss A and I (now suitably dressed) tested out our usual cupcake recipe, to see if it worked just as well with the new Kitchen Aid.

Simple Cupcake Recipe (makes  24 small cupcakes)

You will need:

• 250g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 250g (8oz) caster sugar
• 250g (8oz) self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 4 medium eggs
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 2 x 12-hole muffin tins, lined with paper cases

 

Set the oven to 180°C or Gas Mark 5.

• Put the VERY soft butter into a bowl, it soon softened up in the heat yesterday, but beat it in the bowl (we used the flat beater – Kitchen Aid) to soften, if you don’t have the time to wait, or have these usually warm conditions.
• Add the caster sugar and cream the mixture together – see photograph above.  Then add the  flour, salt, eggs and milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
• This mixture should then be divided between the 24 cupcake cases.
• Place both muffin tins in the oven and bake for 15/18 minutes
• Remove the cupcakes from the oven.
• Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack, or plates to cool.

Variations :

Lemon: Add finely zested rind of 2 lemons to the mixture. Also add 4/6  tablespoons of lemon juice in place of the milk in the above recipe, depending on how lemony you like it.

Chocolate: Use 2 level tablespoons less flour, and add 2 level tablespoons cocoa – I prefer Green & Blacks for this method.

Coffee: Use 2 tablespoons of instant coffee, which has been dissolved in 4 tablespoons hot water.  Again this replaces the milk in the above recipe.

 

 

Easy Buttercream Icing:

This is very simple, the key is to get it to the correct consistency I think. Though my piping skills are not great, it tasted peftectly delicious, and both Miss A and N were able to pipe the buttercream on the cakes easily too.

You need :

1/2  a pack of butter 125g (very, very soft)

500g icing sugar

milk (5 tablespoons)

Optional (colouring, or flavouring)

This is just put all together in a bowl, and beaten together (I used the flat beater on the Kitchen Aid again) .  Really simple, but just keep in mind that the consistency should enable you pipe the buttercream easily.  If it is too stiff, add a little more milk, but not too much.

So here are the results:

 

I love the ladybird one that Miss A made, at the very top.

Miss N made all of the ones with the heart sprinkles….I was very impressed!

 

Thank you for reading

 

Disclaimer : I was sent 2 x aprons, chefs hat, cupcake cases, piping bags, butterflies and ladybirds for decoration and a silver cupcake stand as a gift from Good to Know.  I did not receive any financial reward for this post.  Though it was very rewarding using my new toy! 😉