Pretty Cupcakes Food for Baby Showers
(makes 12 cupcakes)
“A party without cake, is just a meeting” – Julia Child
So don’t make the mistake of forgetting these bite-sized cake sensations!
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 1/3 cup cornflour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 180g unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup castor sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp lemon juice
For our Divine Butter Cream Icing:
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups pure icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tbsp milk, at room temperature
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
Place the paper cases into a 12-hole muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced).
Sift together the flour, cornflour, baking paper and salt, and set aside.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on low speed until all the ingredients are blended. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes until the batter is lovely, light and fluffy. Remember to wipe the sides of the bowl regularly with a spatula.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed. Wait until each egg is mixed in well before adding the next one. The mixture should be lovely and light.
Add the flour mixture and lemon juice. Mix on the lowest speed until combined or use a large metal spoon to fold it all in. Do this until everything has just blended together, don’t overdo it!
Divide the batter evenly into the 12 paper cases. An old fashioned ice-cream scoop is great for this job. Only half-fill the cups, if you want a lovely round top.
Bake for 20 minutes until firm and lightly golden. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes before removing each and placing on a cooling rack. Let them completely cool before icing!
For the icing: Place the butter, icing sugar, milk and lemon into the bowl and beat with an electric mixer on a low speed to blend everything together. Finally, increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until the icing is very light and creamy.
To make these an extravagant décor feature, go crazy with icing, fondant flowers, little toys and cake toppers. Because a party isn’t a party, without cupcakes!