Sunday, September 19, 2010

Vanilla Cupcakes (specially for Levine)

From time to time I get requests for a good cupcake recipe.  Here's one I enjoyed using for many years:

8 oz (225gm) softened butter
8 oz (225gm) castor sugar
8 oz (225gm) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat your oven to about 175 deg C.  Place about 18 paper cupcake cases (regular size) into muffin tins.

Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl.  Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time, beating well in between eggs and scraping mixing bowl down.  Add vanilla essence.  Turn mixer speed down to minimum and fold in flour (don't take too long otherwise the cake will be tough).  Alternatively, fold in flour by hand.

Sppon the mixture into the cupcake cases (about 3/4 full) and bake for about 20 minutes.  I usually turn the tins about 10-15 minutes into baking (don't do it too soon otherwise the cakes may collapse).  Test doneness with a skewer.  If the skewer comes out clean, cake is done.

Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.  If you plan to frost the cake, a butter cream frosting will be good.  You can store the cool cakes in an air tight container for up to 3 days.  If you choose to keep the cakes in the fridge, take them out 15-20 minutes before eating.

You can also make smaller cupcakes which means your yield will be higher. 

Enjoy!

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