Cupcake Recipes, Tips & Ideas

Hi all,

Well, I must confess :rolleyes: I have NEVER in my 42.5 years made a single CUPCAKE :shhh:

AND I NEED YOUR HELP DESPERATELY :help:

I plan on making about a dozen for my daughter's 2nd birthday party this Saturday :happybirthday: !!

I don't have a recipe and I wouldn't know where to start ... :dunno:

Can you suggest your yummiest cupcake recipes ? :pray:

Also does it matter what brand in paper-cupcake holder I use ?

Any tips/hints would be greatly appreciated ... whether it be in making them or the decorating them or even how to make a yummy nice icing .. ( What's best glazed or frosted ?? )

Do they have to be plain vanilla flavour ?

... Can I make them Friday night before the party (party is at 4pm on Saturday) & is it best to store them in the fridge ??

She is having a Bob The Builder themed party ... Any ideas ;)

... Huge "THANKS" to all in advance :cheer:

I have an excellent recipe from a bakery cookbook. I will type it up later (bubs is on my knee ATM) but it makes about 24 muffin size very sofy melt in your mouth muffins. they take a bit of mixing but well worth the effort. I used OJ instead of milk one time and they make orange cupcakes. I usually make a really creamy icing that is yummy. You will need a muffin tray and the white muffin papers. I make an icing out of beating sour cream and icing sugar but will find a recipe. Will do it by tonight! Nothing fancy required.

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...cup-cakes.html

and a photo
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...php?photo=6805

OMG I HAVE THE BEST ONES FOR YOU HUNNY!!!

Chocolate covered brownie icecream cone cupcakes

Makes 12 Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Cupcake Making time 20 minutes

Cupcake Baking 160 degrees c

COATING
1 1/3 cups choc chips
2 tablespoons of canola or vegeatable oil
Sprinkles for decoration Maybe yellow and blue for Bob the Builder theme or ricepaper bob pictures to place ontop

BATTER
12 Flat bottom ice cream cones
1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into pieces
28 grams chocolate chopped
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chips


Cupcake Method:

Position a rack in the iddle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 160c. Cut 6-inch squares of aluminium foil and press them into 12 regular or mini-muffin tin cups, letting the edges of the foil over the hanging edges. Place a cone in each cup, wrapping the foil around the cone to hold it sturdily in the muffin cup. If you jiggle the pan slightly the cones should not fall over.

Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or bottom of the double boiler). Stir until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, stirl the flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed beat the eggs and sugar until thickened and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the Vanilla. On low speed, mix in the chocolate mixture. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. then Mix in the chocolate chips.

Using a small spoon, fill each icecream cone with about 1/4 cup batter to just bellow the top of the cone.Carefully put the cupcakes into the oven, making sure that the cones are still standing upright.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs, but not wet batter, clinging to it, about 28minutes. (If the toothpick penetrates the chocolate chips test in another spot)

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate coating. Put the chocolate and oil in a heat-proof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water ( or the bottom of the double boiler) Stir until the chocolate is elted and smooth. Scraspe the chocolate coating into a small bowl.

Dip the top of each cupcake cone in the chocolate coating, letting any excess drip off, and replace the cones in the muffin tin. ( You will have some chocolate coating left over for another use or to pour over ice cream; working with a larger quantity of chocolate coating makes it easier for dipping) Let the coating firm for about 10 minutes then sprinkle it lightly with sprinkles..

You can store the cupcakes for up to 3 Days in a dry cool place!!!

These are soo CUTE!! They look like little icecreams but they are actually cupcake icecreams hehe!!

Here it is.....
Crabapple Bakery's Vanilla Cupcakes:

2 3/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
200g softened unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 cup milk

preheat oven to 170C.
line two 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake papers.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes.

Add caster sugar a third at a time, beating for 2 minutes after each addition.

After the last addition, beat until the mixture is light and fluffy and the sugar has almost dissolved.

Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each minute or until mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Add a third of the flour to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Add half of the milk and beat until combined. Repeat this process.

Add the remaining third of the flour and beat until thoroughly combined; do not over-beat or the mixture will toughen.

Spoon mixture into cupcake papers, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the trays immediately and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before frosting.



Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
(Makes enough for about 24 cupcakes)

220g softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tbs vanilla extract
8 cups icing sugar

Cream the butter for 1-2 minutes.

Add milk, vanilla extract, and half the sifted icing sugar, and beat for at least 3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the remaining icing sugar and beat for a further 3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy and of a spreadable consistency.

Add extra milk if the mixture is too dry, or extra icing sugar if the mixture is too wet.

NOTES
I use SR flour instead of plain and baking soda (leave out baking soda with SR flour)
It is REALLY important to beat for the time allocated as this is what makes them light and fluffy.
My icing is about 3 cups of icing sugar with a few dollops of sour cream and beat with electric beater and colour with food colouring. The icing recipe here makes heaps! It is meant to be swirled in a peak.
I buy white muffin papers from woolies. Sometimes they also come in silver foil and white. They are big cupcakes.

Deirdre,

I just wanted to post and say I made your cupcakes tonight... OMG they are soooo good!!!! :D

I used the plain flour & baking powder - and didn't ice them, as I added raspberries & white choc bits to them, I think it may have been too sweet with the icing - and DS always picks the icing off anything anyway! :rolleyes:

Thanks so much for the recipe!

I'm keen to make more with different ingredients in them now ;)

I'm not flash at making cupcakes but I swear by the Crabapple Bakery cupcake cookbook. It has so many different cakes!!

I still manage to burn them though! Good luck with your daughter's birthday!

Does anyone have a tried and true yummy Vanilla Cupcake recipe?

Need to make a batch next week for DD to take to school for her birthday.

I am also attempting to make a barbie doll cake, that should be interesting lol

Do you think I could use the cupcake recipe for the doll cake?

Here is a simple recipe:

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup milk
125g butter, melted, cooled
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Icing
1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar
food colouring, optional
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons water

Method
Preheat oven to 200?C. Grease a 12 x 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan. Alternatively, line holes with paper cases. Combine flour and caster sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
Add milk, butter, eggs and vanilla to flour mixture. Using a large metal spoon, stir gently to combine.
Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Make icing: Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add food colouring and water. Stir until smooth and well combined. Spoon icing over cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles and lollies.

I have another one that is much more time consuming but makes much softer fluffier cakes but given your purpose I don't think it is worth it. Kids just love any cakes esp with icing and lollies on top.

OR
Tiny Teddy cupcakes from taste.com:
125g butter, at room temperature
155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g (1 1/3 cups) self-raising flour
50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
185ml (3/4 cup) milk
16 Arnott's Tiny Teddy chocolate biscuits

Buttercream tinted with tablespoon of cocoa in 1/2 tablespoon hot water

Method
Preheat oven to 180?C. Line sixteen 125ml (1/2-cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Fold in the flour and cocoa, alternately with the milk, until combined.
Spoon the mixture among paper cases. Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centres comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Spread 2 teaspoons of icing over each cupcake. Set aside for 30 minutes to set. Top cupcakes with biscuits to serve.

With your Barbie cake you can always buy two boxes of vanilla cake mix for the base? Do you have a Dolly Varden tin? It is worth hiring one (about $5) to get the proprtions right. And break of Barbie's legs and just push her hips into the cake to save splitting the cake. You can put the legs back on later if you are kind (I wasn't!). I made a dolly cake for my DD in Dec but it was a choc mud cake with pink buttercream icing. If you are using the proper tin you will need larger quantities of mixture that the cupcakes. If you hire it ask the hire shop ladies how many packets of cake mix you will need.

I use to make cupcakes using a Donna Hay recipe. When I didn't have the time or just couldn't be bothered making that extra effort I would buy the Green's buttercake packet mix. I think it is nicer than the White Wings one.

375g butter
1 and a half cups caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 eggs
3 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

Pre heat oven to 160. Place butter, sugar and vanilla in bow and beat until light and creamy.
Add the eggs, two at a time, beating well.
Sift the flour and baking powder over the butter mixture and mix until combined.
Fill patty cases until 3/4 full and bake for 35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

I have made these quite a few times and they are quick and easy. DD1 had to take cupocakes for school last week and I made these and they were voted "best ever" by her Legal studies class LOL (ys she is 17 but they have "cake day" in legal studies!!)

Quick Mix Patty cakes
125g softened chopped butter
1tsp vanilla
3/4 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup milk.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl then mix with electric mixer on low until combined. Beat on medium until mixture changes colour and is smooth then drop 1 1/2 tbs of mix into each patty case.Bake in mod oven for about 15-20 minutes. Cool on rack.

Nic- do you put yours in normal patty papers or in muffin papers? Given the quantity the look muffin sized?

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Nic- do you put yours in normal patty papers or in muffin papers? Given the quantity the look muffin sized?

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Yeah, I put them in a muffin tin, but the recipe stated they were for cupcakes..it does seem like a lot though, doesn't it?

Nic

thanks for the replies everyone

I ended up doing a trial of this recipe: SO YUMMY!!

Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)
CUPCAKES:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.
Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
*Note:
If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

I used vanilla bean paste instead of the extract though.

The one that I can't go past is Nigellas cupcake recipe. It is just devine - but Magnolia's sounds pretty good too - maybe I should go outside my comfort zone and explore other cupcake recipes :)

ooh, the Magnolia Bakery's Buttercream is nice, I made it with pure icing sugar and woohoo, it was sweet!

That Magnolia Bakery one is really similar to the one that I posted earlier about that I didn't give the recipe for as it is more time consuming than more basic cupcakes but makes really soft fluffy ones! Mine was from the Crabapple Cupcake Bakery cookbook which is worth getting if you love making cupcakes.

cool, I'll look it up.
I know they are more time consuming but considering I am going to be making 50 of the things this Sunday I thought that they should taste super yummy for all my effort.
Here's hoping that Abby doesn't make herself sick sneaking all that batter while I'm not looking lol.

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That Magnolia Bakery one is really similar to the one that I posted earlier about that I didn't give the recipe for as it is more time consuming than more basic cupcakes but makes really soft fluffy ones! Mine was from the Crabapple Cupcake Bakery cookbook which is worth getting if you love making cupcakes.

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I have that book...haven't had time to actually bake anything from it though...I want to try the marshmallow frosting one day

This cake is amazing!!!

I make it into cupcakes and top with Vanilla Buttercream Icing.... *homer drool*

2 3/4 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
200g softened unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 170c...

Sift together flour and baking powder.
In a separate bowl cream the butter (at room temp) for 1-2 minutes.
Add the castor sugar a third at a time - beating for 2 mins after each addtion.
After the last addition beat until the mixture is light and fluffy and almost white in colour.
Add eggs one at a time (at room temp) beating for 1 min after each addition or until mixture is light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and beat until combined.

Add a third of the flour to the creramed mixture a beat on low speed until combined. Add hald the milk (room temp) and beat until combined.
Repeat this process.
Add the remaining third of the flour and beat until throughly combined.
Do not overbeat or this will make tough cupcakes.

Spoon mixture into cupcake papers and bake for 18-20 mins :)


Vanilla Buttercream Frosting :)

200g softening unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla
8 cups icing sugar

Cream the butter for 1-2 mins. Add the milk, vanilla and half of the sifted icing sugar and beat for 3 mins until mixture is light and fluffy.
Add remaining icing sugar and beat for a further 3 mins.

Thanks darl :) Will give this one a go.

But is the 8 cups of icing sugar a typo? lol! Maybe I'm going to need more icing sugar!

LOL nope thats how much you use :)

let me know if you want to bake it as a cake and not the cupcakes xoxox

Just have to second the best ever comment - these are always a winner when I bake them and invariably someone always asks for the recipe......makes HEAPS of icing - I often just make a half batch!

It does make heaps - but if you pipe it on you'll use it all :)

mmmmm might have to make some this weekend me thinks...

Mak - have you tried the dinosaur rock ones?

Hey darl, would love to make this as a cake (its ok, my sis is coming up tomorrow to help, she's a good cake baker hehe), it wouldn't be too much different though would it?

Nope easy as :)

ok so it works best as a layer cake (just 2 cakes joined with buttercream in the middle)

so just lightly grease 2 x 20cm cake tins (one at a time if you only have 1)

bake for 35mins until a skewer comes out clean.

If you don't want to do it as a layer cake just bake 2 cakes :-) - you can freeze the uniced cake...

Dee - dinosaur rocks, please explain!!!! I have a copy of the recipe ..... what am I missing out on?????

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Dee - dinosaur rocks, please explain!!!! I have a copy of the recipe ..... what am I missing out on?????

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I thought you might have had the book that recipes comes from - I have a choc recipe thats amazing too from the same place :)

I did give it to my step mum tho - so maybe time for a looksee.....Thanks for the tip! :)

Sounds Great!! I'm going to bake some tomorrow!! I love cupcakes....thanks for the receipe.
Yummo.

Thanks, really nice are they? I might give them a whirl ;)

Oooooooooo!
ill have to try them they sound amazing
thankyou for posting :D

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Thanks, really nice are they? I might give them a whirl ;)

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Well....I hate cake and I love these :)

Let me know if you like them :)

You hate cake :doh:

;)

LOL I know - hate the dry crumbly texture of the ones my mum used to make :rofl:

Oh yeah I hear ya my mum wasn't much of a cook either *snigger*

Only cakes she cooked well was coconut cakes over & over & over again

Oh and these boiled fruit cakes they used to cook in the 70s. Boiling this fruit red & green cherries for hours on the stove :sick:

lol i still cringe when i see glace cherries

Thats not cake though... cake is not meant to be dry and crumbly ;) But I guess you know that now LOL!

Don't worry I grew up in a household with microwave cakes *shudder* And I didn't know what buttercream was till I made it myself.

But yay for being able to make lots of yummy things!

That is a great recipe- I have made them a number of times. Did you get the recipe from the Crabapple Bakery Cookbook? I don't love all the recipes in there but this Vanilla one is easily the best vanilla cupcake recipe that I have made. I halve the icing and palette it on rather than swirling it on as the 8 cups allows you to do. I might just make these tomorrow- thanks for reminding me!

Yup thats where I got it from.
I am making the chocolate dinosaur rock ones today :)