Recipe release: FML Vanilla Cupcakes

As you know, I love a good FML cupcake (Fluffy, Moist and Light). I especially love a good old fashion FML vanilla cupcake. I find that vanilla cupcakes are cupcakes in its rawest form. A vanilla cupcake is either good or bad - there is no in between. There is no hiding a bad vanilla cupcake, no matter how you dress it up with sprinkles or toppers. Although a bad vanilla cupcake is very disappointing, a good vanilla cupcake is overwhelming delicious! Nothing beats a yummy vanilla cupcake with a hot English breakfast cuppa! Ladies and gents, am I right or am I right?!

It has taken me a while, but I think I have discovered the perfect FML vanilla cupcake recipe. This recipe has yet to fail me, so in my books it's pretty much near perfect. The search for me is finally over and hopefully for you too. So have a go at this vanilla cupcake recipe and let me know what you think.


VANILLA CUPCAKES
Recipe makes approximately 16 normal sized cupcakes

Ingredients
120 grams of salted butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste (which is quite expensive, so for a cheaper alternative use vanilla extract)
150 grams of caster sugar
2 large eggs
185 grams of self-raising flour
1/2 cup of milk
16 normal sized cupcake patties

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or 160 degrees Celsius if you are using a fan forced oven).
2. Beat butter on full speed until it turns a pale shade of white.
3. Add vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract to the butter and continue beating.
4. Gradually add caster sugar to the mixture and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. This can take a while, so I tend to sift the flour a few times as I let the beater do its thing.
5. Add one egg at a time into the mixture and beat well on full speed.
6. Turn the mixer speed down and add half the flour and milk to the mixture. Beat until the flour and milk is combined. Add the remainder of the flour and milk to the mixture and beat until combined.
7. Spoon the mixture into the patty pans. Fill the patty pans 3/4 of the way full if you would like the cupcakes to rise above the cupcake patties or 1/2 of the way full if you would like the cupcakes to rise to the rim of the cupcake patties.
8. Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes in the oven. Check that the cupcakes are cooked with a skewer.
9. Take the cupcakes out of the oven and cool.

Baking tips I have learnt over time:

• When it comes to baking, always buy full cream, full fat, full goodness ingredients! Otherwise, you may end up with bland tasting baked goods and let's face it, no one likes bland tasting bake goods, especially bland cupcakes!
• You can never over beat the butter, sugar and eggs. However, once you have added the flour and milk to the mixture, you want to beat it as little as possible.
• Under cook the cupcakes, i.e. when you use a skewer to check whether the cupcake bases are done, take the cupcakes out of the oven when the skewer comes out with a little bit of crumbs (basically not when it is entirely clean). Then leave the cupcakes in the tray for 10 minutes to cool. The cupcakes will continue to cook in the cases but will not cause it to dry out. Thereby creating and nurturing a perfect FML cupcake environment.

A cupcake is not a cupcake without icing. So one must always ice their cupcakes! Here is the recipe for a vanilla buttercream icing I tend to use. Once again, this recipe has yet to fail me.


VANILLA ICE-ICE-ICING

Ingredients
125 grams of salted butter
250 grams of pure icing sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of milk or cream
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Beat butter on full speed until it turns a pale shade of white.
2. Add the vanilla extract, milk or cream and salt to the butter and continue beating.
3. Sift icing sugar thoroughly to ensure no lumps! No matter how slack you are feeling, you must sift the icing sugar thoroughly.
4. Gradually add the icing sugar to the mixture and beat until the mixture is fluffy and smooth.

And that's all folks! Simple as one, two, three, A, B, C.  Like I said, if you give this recipe a go, let me know how you get on with it.

Here is a photo of some FML vanilla cupcakes I made for a 50th birthday.