Foolproof Cupcakes

 Hello there! If you don't already know, I love to bake. I've been loving the fact that The Great British Bake Off has been back on! Have you been watching it? There's been some quite dramatic moments! (If you've never seen it you're probably thinking how can baking be dramatic? But believe me it can).  I have to say that my speciality is making cupcakes, and everyone always says that they're so nice and that they wouldn't be able to make them, but in actual fact they're one of the simplest things that you can bake! To get into the spirit of the bake off, I thought I would share this recipe with you so you can have a go at making them too. If you're worried that you never bake or cook anything, don't! These really are ever so simple and anyone can do it. I'm even going as far as calling them 'foolproof'. 

Ingredients

-150g self-raising flour (if you want chocolate ones like I did, substitute 25g of flour for cocoa powder)

-150g margarine

-150g caster sugar

-2 eggs (weigh them and try to get as close as you can to 150g)

-1 tsp baking powder

-optional chocolate chips

(I'm sorry that my ingredients aren't as professionally presented as they have been in previous posts, I don't have any small ramekin pots in Sheffield!)

For the icing:

-100g icing sugar (again can substitute some with cocoa powder)

-50g softened butter

Process

-Depending on how long your oven takes to heat up, you can either preheat it to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 now, or a few steps on.

-Place cupcake cases into your tray. I used to use smaller cases, but now they're just too small. Definitely use larger ones as you get more cake per portion! This recipe will make 12 medium sized cupcakes.

-Here's the first simple part, measure everything out and put it into a mixing bowl.

-Mix everything together, you can use a wooden spoon but I would definitely recommend an electric whisk!

-If you are choosing to add in chocolate chips like I did, stir them in now. 

-Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases until they are about 2/3 full.

-Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes. You'll know they're ready when you tap the top of them and they spring back.

-Once the cupcakes are baked, leave them to cool before you make the icing.

-When the cupcakes have been left and are cool, you can start making the icing. Mix together the icing sugar with the butter with an electric whisk. If you find that the butter and icing are a bit dry, try adding a splash of milk and this should bring the icing together. You can then spread this onto the cupcakes and decorate!

And there you have it! What could be easier? If you have a go at making them, please tweet me @jesslouisekeen! I've have also just discovered that this week is national cupcake week so this fits in nicely.

I hope you enjoy making them!

Love Jess xxx