Light and fluffy vanilla cupcake sponge with and explosion of bright, edible confetti, topped with a smooth vanilla buttercream piped rose and more sprinkles
Total time to make : 40 minutes Time to prep : 20 minutes
Time to bake : 15 - 18 minutes
Servings : 12
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
120g butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
220g self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
180ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
60g edible confetti sprinkles*
Buttercream
200g butter, at room temperature
400g icing sugar
2 tbsp any milk
1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
Method
Vanilla Cupcake base
Preheat a fan oven to 180C and line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, mixing them in one at a time, then add in the vanilla
In a seperate bowl, sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt together and stir so it's evenly mixed. Gently tip these dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients. Use a standing mixer (lowest setting), spatula or spoon to fold the ingredients together, adding the milk in a few tbsps at a time whilst you fold the ingredients, until everything is just mixed
Pour in the sprinkles and fold through a few times, being careful not to over mix the batter. Use heaped tablespoons to fill the cake liners, filling them up about 2/3 full
Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until a clean metal skewer or toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of a cupcake, they should be golden, risen and springy to touch
Cool on a wire rack until completely cooled before icing
Buttercream
Using a standing mixer or electric hand whisker to whip the butter in a large bowl for a few minutes until pale and fluffy
Keeping the speed on low, add in the icing sugar gradually - to avoid being covered in a huge cloud of icing smoke! Continue doing this until all the icing sugar has been added, then mix on a high speed for another minute before gradually adding the milk and vanilla
The consistency we're looking for with buttercream is thick but spreadable, like toothpaste*
Ice the cupcakes using a spoon or piping bag with nozzle attachment, finish with another sprinkle of edible confetti
Nutritional Information
(per fully-iced cupcake, with about 3-4 tbsp buttercream per cake)
298 calories
2g protein, 32g carbs, 18g fat
Good to know:
The quality of Vanilla is really important here because it's such a dominant flavour. I love vanilla paste (so you can see little flecks of the vanilla bean). Vanilla extract is a better quality product than vanilla essence which is more processed and uses false colours and flavourings
Types of sprinkles: within the batter, look for 'jimmies', 'quins' or 'confetti'. Don't use nonpareils (known as 'hundreds and thousands/100s and 1000s') within the batter as the colour will bleed. But they can be used to decorate on top.
For piped roses, I use a Wilton 2D or 1M nozzle, they're a very popular and widely available nozzles, along with a piping bag
Once you've prepared the buttercream, full the piping bag and I like to put mine in the fridge to chill for 10/15 minutes. This firms up the icing so the roses have a more defined shape
Cupcakes freeze incredibly well, make in advance, bring to room temperature then wrap tightly with cling-film and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months
Once mixed to your desired consistency, icing can be stored in an airtight container (see picture, below) for up to 1 week in the fridge or 2 months in a freezer, defrost fully before using
Store iced cupcakes at room temperature for up to 3 days