The Adventures of Croissant and Bagel

Spring cupcakes August 3, 2009

My sister asked me to make some ‘normal food’. I suspect she misses the days where all I ever made was chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing and sprinkles. She had also given me a packet of only yellow crispy M&Ms and I thought that was too good an opportunity to waste. How often can you buy packets with only one colour? I thought everyone in my family could do with a reminder that it is almost spring. Well, in a little over a month, but I am counting down. I hate winter.

The cakes are just plain vanilla cupcakes with plain vanilla buttercream icing, decorated with mini marshmallows that I cut in half. I don’t think you can get more ‘normal’ than vanilla! The vanilla cake was one I sort of made up as I went. They tasted nice and moist but they were not particularly attractive without icing. They sank a bit as I took them out of the oven leaving a flat surface with a peak in the middle- very odd looking. The only handy thing about this was that I could chop the peaks off and give them to Dad and P to eat so that they left the actual cakes alone until I was finished.

Vanilla cupcakes

• 125g cubed butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 1/4 cup self raising flour
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 190C
2. Beat butter until soft (if it is at room temperature this only takes a second) and then gradually add sugar. Beat until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between each. Add the vanilla and salt.
4. Add about a third of the flour, then the milk. Keep adding small amounts alternatively.
5. Fill patty pans about 2/3 full.