Seriously Addictive Vanilla Cupcakes from Brown Sugar Cupcakes
Brown Sugar Cupcakes is a wonderful new purveyor of homemade cupcakes for any occasion.
It was started by Lynn Brown and daughters Nancy and Cassie who started out by making cakes for friends and family. Before long they were gathering fans, and friends suggested they start making cakes professionally.
While all the girls still have day jobs, they fit their passion for baking in after work and at weekends.
They have already done baby showers, weddings, delivered to celebs and supplied to the British Soap Awards! Not bad for a start-up company!
They are also incredibly generous, sharing with Belle one of their super secret recipes so that you can all make deliciously delicate cupcakes at home for your next party or picnic.
Seriously Addictive Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
Makes 12
For the sponge
- 180g plain flour
- 210g caster sugar
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 60g unsalted butter
- Two small eggs
- 180ml whole milk
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
For the buttercream
- 110g unsalted butter
- 60ml whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 500g icing sugar
Method
1). Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F and place 12 paper cases into a muffin tin.
2). Sieve the flour into a freestanding electric mixer and add the sugar, baking powder, salt and softened butter. Mix on a low speed until all ingredients are combined and resemble fine breadcrumbs.
3). In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla essence and milk. Slowly add to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
4). Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake for 22 minutes or until light golden brown. Insert a skewer into the cupcake to test – if it’s cooked, it will come out clean. Remove the cakes from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
5). To make the vanilla buttercream, sieve the icing sugar into an electric mixer. Add the softened butter, milk and vanilla essence and mix on a slow speed until all ingredients are combined. Continue beating till the icing is fluffy and light in colour. For an adult alternative, use 20ml milk and 40ml Baileys Irish Cream liqueur.
6). Place a large nozzle into an icing bag and fill with the buttercream. Gently pipe the icing onto the cool cake in a swirling motion. Top with edible glitter, sprinkles or a fondant icing topper of your choice.
If you don’t have time to bake them yourself or are not good with the oven you can always order them from Brown Sugar Cupcakes. They handmake them to order so they’re fresh and bespoke – if you dream up a design they can usually make it. At just £20 for a regular dozen and £20 for 24 minis, it won’t matter if you are more Betty Grable than Betty Crocker!
To order your favourite cupcakes for any occasion visit www.brownsugarcupcakes.co.uk or become their friend on Facebook.
