16.08.2010- The continuation of my culinary adventures....

Last week I made some more cupcakes from my cookbook, and again they were a success! Yay! So, as an excuse for me to post the photos I took, I though I'd share the recipe with you all. It's taken from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf, which, as I've mentioned before is a really brilliant, easy to follow book, great for novices and experienced cooks alike.

Hummingbird Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing- makes 12.

Ingredients
for the cakes:
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1½ teaspoons of baking powder
a pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
120ml whole milk
1 egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
edible sprinkles to decorate

for the icing:
250g icing sugar
80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
25ml whole milk
a couple of drops of vanilla extract
a couple of drops of food colouring of your choice

You will also need a 12 hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases.

To make the cakes:
1) Preheat the oven to 170 degrees, Gas Mark 3.
2) Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or, like I do, use a handheld electric whisk) and mix on a slow speed until the mixture has a sandy texture and everything is combined. Slowly pour in half the milk and mix until it is just incorporated.

3) Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds and then add to the flour mixture. Keep mixing until just incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
4) Spoon the mixture into the paper cake cases until they are two thirds full, leaving room for the cakes to rise when they are cooking in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the sponge is light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. When cooked, leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray when out of the oven before placing on a wire rack and allowing to cool completely.

To make the icing:

1) Beat the icing sugar and butter together with your electric mixer on a medium to slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
2) Turn the mixture down to a slow speed and then combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add this to the butter mixture a couple of teaspoons at a time.
3) Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixture up to high speed, add a few drops of food colouring and continue beating until the icing is light and fluffy, for at least five minutes.
4) Once the cakes have cooled completely, pipe or spoon the icing on top and decorate with hundreds and thousands. I use an icing syringe which I picked up from my local supermarket, which is really easy to use and comes with different attachments so you can change how thickly or thinly the icing is piped onto the cakes.

Then, fingers crossed, you should end up with some cakes that look a little bit like this:

This week, I'm hoping to try making some chocolate muffins, so will let you know how I get on.

What are your favourite things to make in the kitchen?

(Image credit: Sarah Farrell, please do not reproduce without permission.)