Suggestive Cupcake Anyone?

To celebrate a week of continuous blogging I am going to share my infamous recipe for cupcakes. The cakes are very well known amongst my friends and colleagues as I tend to make them for every occasion be it a barbecue or birthday... I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact I call them ‘Nipple Cakes’!

Ingredients for about 12 cakes

Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before starting

Cake

• 100g (4oz) Unsalted Butter
• 100g (4oz) Caster Sugar
• 100g (4oz) Self-Raising Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Level Tsp Baking Powder

Icing

• 75g (3oz) Unsalted Butter
• 175g (6oz) Icing Sugar
• ¼ Tsp Vanilla Extract/Essence
• Fresh Raspberries

To make the Cake

Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / Gas Mark 6 and line 12-hole bun tin with paper cases. The number of cakes made will differ depending on the size of the case you use, and how much you fill them.

Put all the ingredients together in a bowl and beat well until thoroughly mixed and smooth. The mixture should become lighter the more you mix.

Spoon the mixture into prepared cases, making sure you leave room for the cake to rise a little.

Pop the trays in the oven and bake for about 15 mins until golden brown, and a knife or cake tester comes out clean when stuck in the top. Lift the cakes out of the tin and cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing

Beat the butter until soft and easily mixed. Sift the icing sugar into the butter and mix thoroughly – it will be a little thick but don’t worry too much.

Add the vanilla and continue to beat until you have a lovely pale mixture. If the mixture really is too stiff then add a touch of milk. Only add the milk if you really have to, as the icing needs to be quite firm.

Spoon the icing onto the top of each cake and smooth into a swirl pattern with the back of a spoon. Ice the cakes thick enough so you can’t see any of the sponge base through it, but not so thick that it’s a mountain high.

Once you have iced the cakes, just before you are about to serve, pop a fresh raspberry on the top, in the centre, of each cake. The effect is a feast for the eyes and really makes the cake what it is, but don’t be afraid to experiment with whatever decoration you like.

I use a food mixer to make my cakes as allows me to multi-task (I always seem to in a rush when I make these for some reason). Why not try the KitchenAid Artisan Mixer – the range of colours is as beautiful as my cakes.

Sarah