Would anybody like to share their foolproof cupcake recipe?

[NotAnotherNewNappy]

I am a novice baker, I can just about produce acceptable fairy cakes and once made a passable victoria sponge. We're having DD2 baptised in a few weeks and I have a mad urge to create a cupcake tower, complete with sparkly icing and tiny sugar craft booties. Can anybody help me? TIA!

buy the hummingbird bakery book - easy and fab

or 175g SR flour
1 tsp baking powder
125g caster sugar
125g US butter
2 eggs

Sift flour and baking powder into bowl. Add sugar and butter and mix. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Put in oven at 190 for 12-14 mins. Ice with butter icing.

I have the Primrose Bakery cupcake book and I find the basic recipe a real PITA with too much faffing around with different flours etc, and separate mixing. This is what I do and it works like a dream:

2 eggs
4oz (sorry I am very old) of each of SR flour (don't bother sifting), sugar, unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
bit of baking powder

Bung it all in same bowl then whisk together til fluffy

I say any sugar as you can use whatever you like or have in the cupboard, obviously caster sugar will produce a finer texture but demerara or soft brown sugar gives a lovely flavour.

cazzybabs Thanks for the recipe. I tried it today and the cakes looked perfect when I took them out - but then soon collapsed and were all gooey in the middle. Grr. Do you think I took them out too soon?

ManicMother Your recipe sounds like my foolproof fairy cakes. What do you ice yours with? Are they dense enough to handle butter cream?

the hummingbird vanilla cupcakes - they are on good food web site hoenstly they work every time......

Ohh that has never happened to me ... did you not test them with a skewer?

Ahhh, that would have been a good idea!

This is my best cake recipe.

Weigh out as many eggs as you need - one egg makes about 6 cupcakes.
Add the same weight of plain flour, caster sugar, Utterly Butterly or similar and one teaspoon per egg of baking powder. Mix well and decant into cases.

Buttercream is whatever weight of Utterly Butterly then double the weight of icing sugar.

Yes that recipe is fine with buttercream on top.