cup cake recipes please!

[happynappies]

I saw a couple of lovely stands of cup cakes at a local farmer's market, and asked how much they would be as it is dd's christening early next year. Was v expensive! So how difficult would it be to learn to make them myself, i.e. to look professional rather than my fairly small, flat children's party-type cupcakes? Anybody advise me here? Thankyou!

I like the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook for great cupcake recipes and decorating ideas.

I also use the Hummingbird bakery book! But I only seem to need half as much icing as they suggest!

Hi, I make cupcakes to sell. I don't use a recipe as such, here's what I do-
Weigh three eggs. Whatever they weigh, use the same amount of castor sugar, self raising flour and margarine (I use stork) and a teaspoon of vanilla essence.
If you use an electric mixer, leave it whisking for at least ten minutes, it will get lots of air into the mixture and your cakes will be light and moist.
I use muffin cases (bigger than fairy cakes) and use a muffin tin to bake them in. Makes about 24.
For the butter icing, use 250g spreadable butter, with half a large bag of icing sugar, 2 tablespoons of warm water and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. Add more water if necessary. Good luck!

Sorry, forgot to add, bake for 15-20 mins at a medium heat.

The key to getting cupcakes to look professional is piping your buttercream on with a star nozzle. If you want it to look Mr Whippy style then start your spiral on the outside of the cake and if you want roses start piping in the centre and spiral outwards.

I'm by no means a piping expert but just getting the right nozzle changed the look of my cupcakes instantly.

You can make a batch of 12 large cupcakes covered with buttercream with free range eggs and real butter for around £3.00 (not including any specialist sprinkles).

The best cupcake cases I have found are plain white Lakeland muffin cases. The seasonal patterned ones are pretty but tend to go translucent after baking and are much much smaller. Alternatively, I really like the plain brown ones from Morrisons or Asda which are slightly smaller but very good quality.

I've got loads cupcake recipes on my blog - just google my screen name and you'll find it easily.

The key to getting cupcakes to look professional is piping your buttercream on with a star nozzle. If you want it to look Mr Whippy style then start your spiral on the outside of the cake and if you want roses start piping in the centre and spiral outwards.

I'm by no means a piping expert but just getting the right nozzle changed the look of my cupcakes instantly.

You can make a batch of 12 large cupcakes covered with buttercream with free range eggs and real butter for around £3.00 (not including any specialist sprinkles).

The best cupcake cases I have found are plain white Lakeland muffin cases. The seasonal patterned ones are pretty but tend to go translucent after baking and are much much smaller. Alternatively, I really like the plain brown ones from Morrisons or Asda which are slightly smaller but very good quality.

I've got loads cupcake recipes on my blog - just google my screen name and you'll find it easily.

I second the Lakeland recommendation.