cupcake recipe??

[curlyLJ]

Anyone got a good, tried and tested one?

Am planning on making some out for my DD's birthday party next w/e and there are so many variations of recipes online and I don't have time to try them all out first...

[tobytoes]

Ive a great one. Just putting baby to bed. I shall share in bout 30 mins.x

[tobytoes]

4oz softened butter
5oz self raising flour
5ozcaster sugar ( i like to use golden caster sugar)
3 tablespoons of milk
2 large eggs
Half teaspoon vanilla extract

Its so easy,just add all ingredients together and mix until smooth

Oven should be pre-heated to 180° or 160° for a fan oven 20-25 mins until risen and golden brown.

Seriously soooo easy and bloody tasty.xx

[TheFutureMrsB]

I always use -

125g softened butter
125g self raising flour
125g caster sugar
2 eggs
a drop of vanilla extract
and a drop of milk if the mixture requires it.

Should make 12 cupcakes or 24 fairy cakes.

I made an Angry Birds cake last night but as I was making a victoria sponge I doubled the ingredients to make more. It came out brilliantly rather well

[TheFutureMrsB]

Oh and oven preheated to 180° or gas mark 5 for 20-25 mins.

[curlyLJ]

thanks ladies. So no baking powder then?? Most recipes I have found have included that, but then some have mentioned more milk/less egg and some even mentioned cornflour as well as the normal flour... Am so confused

[MrsDoomsPatterson]

I always use Futuremrsb's, it's from my Nigella book, great results for years, sloppier the better, I always add more milk at the end. No baking powder.

Waitrose have sponge flour now too, made a blindingly good lemon drizzle cake yday with it.

[curlyLJ]

OK, so what sort of consistency should the mix be?? Not really sure if i would know how much to add, or if the mix needs it... can I add too much??

Think I am going to have to do at least one practice run. Am going to get seriously fat!!

[MrsDoomsPatterson]

Personally I have mine on the sloppy side - ie not stiff at all, I use a good glug of milk...The best tip I can give is not to over mix, pretend you have a broken wrist, don't overdo things!

[curlyLJ]

OK so I did a trial run and although they came out perfectly fine and they taste nice, I didn't like the texture as much as some cupcakes I have tried.

These to me are like typical fairy cakes but I expected a much softer cakey/muffiny type texture which these are not and they are almost crispy on top if you know what I mean?

I have since found 2 other recipes for the Hummingbird and Primrose Hill bakery recipes where the flour/butter/egg ratios/quantities are very different - will that give me the texture I am after? Does anyone know what I mean??

I can't do too many trials, I will have cupcakes coming out of my ears!

[MrsBertMacklin]

I believe the key to getting a 'soft crumb' cupcake (in addition to making sure you cream the butter and sugar well, but don't overmix the batter once flour and eggs are added), is the milk (hope others will correct me if I'm wrong on this!).

The Hummingbird recipe uses lots of milk and it does produce a soft crumbed cake. On the other hand, it makes for a less stable / reliable batter in my experience and the cakes don't keep as well.

[curlyLJ]

Thanks mrsbertI think there were several things i did wrong, namely not beating the sugar and butter for long enough, adding cold eggs not room temp, and possibly overmixing when the flour went in...

I did add milk, but just a big glug, not a measured amount as i wasn't sure really what the consistency should be like...

Oh well, practice makes perfect as they say!

[MikeLitoris]

I use 4 eggs and 200g of everything else. Tsp baking powder. 16mins @180in my fan oven.

Cream the butter and caster sugar until really light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to minimum and add one egg at a time (add a spoon of the flour after each egg)

To avoid the crisp bit on the top try putting a roasting try with water in on the bottom of the oven.

I must have made 100+ cakes this weekend and this how I always do it.

[MikeLitoris]

And I never bother to add milk.

[chocolatespiders]

Its Comic Relief week so sell the practise ones

[MrsDoomsPatterson]

Aah yes, the butter & sugar must be creamed to a pale fluffyness, it's the folding that needs a light hand!

Souds like you cooked them too long too, I always take mine out when thry're pale, they continue to cook inside, milk really is the difference, I promise.

[curlyLJ]

OK will have another go maybe tomorrrow... thanks for your help everyone!