Easy Easter Cupcakes!

Now I know I'm usually a total health freak, but I am human so I do indulge in a treat now and then. It's not exactly something you can avoid at Easter time and I was really in the mood to do some baking for my family. These are really simple and fun to make, perfect for chilling over the long weekend!

I haven't made cupcakes in a while and was starting to really crave them. I've used this recipe for Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes so many times because it's the best I've ever found. The credit goes to Glory for spending so long experimenting to find the right mix so the rest of us don't have too (bless her!) Her blog is full of amazing treats if you want to go have a look, although it always gives me the biggest sugar craving!

For 15-16 cupcakes, you will need: 

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice- add acid to the milk then set aside for 5 minutes before using)

Here's what to do: 

Preheat your oven to 175*C

Line muffin tins with paper cases. 

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together with a whisk and set aside.

In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat the eggs for 10-20 seconds. Add the sugar and continue beating for 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and oil, beat again.

Reduce mixer to a lower speed, slowly add half of the flour mixture. Add half of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour, and then the other half of the milk. Beat until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and combine any remaining mix. The batter will be thin.

Pour the mix into the prepared muffin tins and fill them 2/3 full.

Bake for 12-14 minutes

Cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Make sure to wait until your cupcakes have completely cooled before icing them!

Now comes the fun part of making these puppies look cute.

I used the American buttercream icing recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Tea with Bea. I've used it again and again to get the perfect icing for whatever I'm making. I actually only made half of the mixture since it's set for 24 cupcakes.


175g butter, cut into cubes and softened
3 and 1/2 cups icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional, makes the mixture whiter!)

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Stir in the milk, vanilla, and lemon.

Spoon into a piping bag and cut off the corner. Pipe the icing in a spiral on top of the cupcakes.

For the toppings, I crumbled some Cadbury Flake on top and then placed a couple of mini-eggs in the middle.

And you're done!

 How cute are these? I love how they turned out and my family were really impressed too. You could easily do a chocolate version of this instead of the vanilla if you wanted an extra fix this weekend.

I hope you all have a great Easter holiday!

What Easter treats are your favorite?
Steph x.