Wow! Miss Celeste is one! ONE! How on earth did that happen?!
My little Miss has switched on enough now to know when there's a good thing on the go. Especially where food is concerned! She's no longer content to slurp away on just Mum's home made concoctions when she can see others enjoying delights such as biscuits, lollypops and chocolate. There's tons of exciting looking foods going down when you have five older siblings running around you all day.
I bought Celeste a chocolate mud cake for her birthday. Not the very best choice for a little baby girl but it was the only cake that seemed suitable at the bakery - plus it had pink bits on it and definitely looked feminine! When I got home I sort of did a double take on it and thought I would add to the festivity and bake some simple cupcakes to delight the kids. My intention though was to pass a cupcake to the little Miss instead of a serving of her very rich bought cake. The rest of us would enjoy that.
I have this little cupcake recipe which is so plain and simple. It has no complicated anything about it and you can vary it any way you like. Add a teaspoon of lemon or orange rind to flavour them rather than the vanilla suggested. Even try almond essence. They are every chef's basic so decorate them as you please too. I have left mine undecorated as I think my kids have enough sugar in their day to skip it in this instance!
Heat your oven to 180 degrees.
125 grams of butter (I use margarine as I don't like the taste of butter)!
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence or substitute with a teaspoon of citrus rind / almond essence
1/2 a cup of caster sugar
2 eggs
1 and a half cups of self-raising flour
1/2 a cup of milk
Beat butter, essence and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in flour and then add the milk.
Spoon portions into patty pans in a tray of your chosen size - makes enough to produce 12 regular sized cakes or 24 minis.
Bake for 15-20 minutes keeping an eye on them towards the end. Baking time varies depending on the size of your cakes.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before popping cakes onto a cooling rack. Ice when completely cool and decorate as desired.
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Vintage piano babies from my collection of 1950's Napcoware. I collect these little stunners - they are SO cute! Festive paper cupcake cases from Robert Gordon's Patty Pan Pantry range. |
These are my go-to cupcakes. The ones I rely on when one of the kids has a birthday and wants to take something to school or kinder to share. I usually ice and decorate with a lolly that reflects the event. At Christmas time I ice them in white and use Jaffas and mint leaves (Holly) to make a Christmas themed cupcake.
What is your go-to favourite? - Do you have a recipe you rely on for celebrations?
Thanks for stopping by!