Vanilla Butterfly Cupcakes

This is the very first cupcake recipe I used when I started making them from scratch at the end of last year. Before that I baked mainly cakes and puddings. They’re my absolute favourite and also the easiest to make! You can’t mess up the icing part because you don’t have to be an expert at piping (as the wings stand in the icing). These are my second most popular after the Oreo cupcakes, mainly because I only used to make these and nothing else. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 100g butter, softened
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
2. Lightly beat the eggs, add the butter, vanilla and sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
3. Add half the flour and milk and mix until just combined, then repeat with the remaining half.
4. Line a cupcake pan with paper cases. This recipe can make up to 18, even though it actually says 12!
5. Fill the cases to just above half and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Test if they are ready when a skewer comes out clean.

And now for the butterfly part!

Buttercream Ingredients:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 cup butter, room temperature

Buttercream Method:

1. Mix all ingredients until well combined. It should be a light and fluffy texture. Add more icing sugar if it is too runny or if the butter taste is still very strong.
2. Place mixture into a piping bag/gun and set aside.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut a circle into the top of each cupcake. You can do this from a downwards sloping angle so it creates a crater. Take the top off but don’t throw it away, this will become the wings!
4. Pipe the centre with icing. Cut the top in half and place it into the icing standing upright as wings.
5. Dust with icing sugar.