Easiest cupcake and butter icing recipe please

[AndWhat]

I am a relatively competent novice baker and have been looking for the easiest/tastiest recipe to make 12 cupcakes topped with butter icing but have found so many different recipes its so hard to chose which will work out the best.

Could any of you lovely MNetters come to my aid? TIA

For cupcakes - weigh 2 (out of their shells) eggs then weigh exactly the same amount of self raising, butter and caster sugar.

Whisk sugar and butter for ages, chuck in some vanilla extract and eggs. Whisk a bit.

Sieve in flour and a bit of baking powder then fold it in (not whisk)

17 mins on gm 5.

I made some this morning!

Basic sponge is 4,4,4,2

4oz sugar
4oz flour
4oz butter
2 eggs.

Do you have a food processor? If so just bung it all in and whizz up. If not, mix the butter and sugar together, then the flour, then the eggs.

Put in cake cases and bake at 180 for 10-15 mins

Buttercream:

250g icing sugar
80g butter (softened so nearly melted)
25ml milk

Beat together the sugar and butter until well mixed then add milk. Continue to beat as it gets paler and fluffier.

I'd use potterring's recipie, but use margerine instead of butter.

Then it depends on how much icing you want on the top: swirls and piles, or a scraping? Leave some butter (and it needs to be block butter) out on the side while the cakes cook and cool, so it is nice and soft.
Then 75g in a bowl, mix til softened. Slowly add 150g of sieved icing sugar, and beat til well combined. If it doesn't quite go to a smooth icing, add a splash of vanilla escence, warm water or milk.

I'd also ring the changes by replacing 2 tablespoons of the flour with cocoa, and adding a little cocoa powder to the icing.

I do similar to may but weigh the eggs IN their shells, and I add a small pinch of bicarbonate of soda to the flour.

For the icing I measure 1 part fat (white fat like cookeen works as well as yellow - like butter/marg) to 3 or 4 parts icing sugar. If you can sieve the icing sugar you'll get a smoother blend.

Make sure the cakes are fully cooled before you ice them. I use an icing bag and a star-shaped nozzle.

Happy Baking!

Thanks for all the advice, I will try over the week for what works best for me, plus I get to eat lots of