Simple Vanilla Cupcakes with Rich Chocolate Frosting

Last Saturday was chaotic. We had lots to do and even though we woke up early to make everything fit, we went non-stop until our heads hit the pillow  that night.

While he was downtown getting some things we needed, she realized that in under an hour we had a birthday party to attend and no cake or cupcakes to bring. She whipped up these cup cakes, from initial idea to walking out the door in under forty minutes. Just what we needed on a day with no time to spare!

She only made 12 cupcakes but here is the original recipe for 24:

2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
200 g butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1 cup milk

Thick chocolate frosting:
125 g butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 Tbs milk
1 Tbs vanilla

Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 170 C (340 F) and prepare your muffin cups (we use silicon ones but paper ones work just as well).

Cream the butter - she did this by hand and it was quite a workout!

Add the sugar, about 1/3 at a time and beat between each addition. The batter should be fluffy and the sugar should be almost completely dissolved. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat between each addition. Also add the vanilla.

Sift the flour and baking powder and add to the mixture, again about 1/3 at a time. Beat on low until the flour is completely combined with the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake linings (each about 3/4 full) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once finished, remove from the oven and let cool before frosting.

Frosting:

Cream the butter, sugar and cocoa (sift the cocoa first to keep it from being too clumpy). Add the milk and vanilla. Beat until fluffy (by hand or with a mixture).

The cupcakes can be frosted simply with a knife or by using a large icing tip. Large icing tips are extremely useful to have on hand. In a few seconds you can frost a cupcake and it looks much more fancy  than flat frosting.


These recipes were both adopted from bestrecipes.au. The cupcakes are recipe #6950 and the frosting is recipe #6486