and Vanilla Butter cupcakes with Orange Butter cream Icing.

Picnic delights

Adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly

 'Easy Cupcakes by colour' Cookbook.

A few months ago some friends and I got together for a little retro inspired photo shoot  for no other reason then we wanted to. We all brought a few plates of food to share as a part of the photo shoot picnic. My two offerings were cupcakes and mini scones. I though it was about time that I shared my cupcake recipe, since they were both simple and delicious little things.

Vanilla Butter cupcakes with Orange Butter Cream Icing.

Preparation: 30mins
Baking time: 20mins
Makes: 8

Cupcakes
Ingredients:

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 90g softened butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract/paste
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 Tbl milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Line eight holes of a 12-hole muffin with paper cases.
2. Sift flour into a small bowl, add butter, extract/paste, eggs and milk. Beat with and electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are combined. Alternatively add ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and follow the same instructions.
3. Increase speed to medium and beat until mixture changes to a paler colour.
4. Drop 1/4 cup of the mixture into case. Bake for about 20mins. Remove from oven and stand the cakes for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. 
5. Make icing.

Add sifted flour

and everything else into a bowl.

I used my stand mixer.

Combine.

The recipe only makes 8 but you can change the recipe to make 1.5 times.

Nice and creamy.

Add to pans.

Bake. Perfect sized cupcakes.

Butter cream

Ingredients:

• 125g softened butter
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 2 Tbl butter
• Red and yellow food colouring
• Approx. 1/2 Tbs Orange essence

Method:

1. Beat butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, until as white as possible.
2. Add essence, then combine.
3. Beat in sifted icing sugar and milk in two batches.
4. Beat in small drops of colouring until desired colour is achieved.

Add all ingredients minus the colourings.

Add colour bit by bit and blend.

Add more if desired. I use a skew dipped into

the bottles to help control colour.

Top cupcakes with icing.

I chose to add little sugar flowers.

Ta-da!

Perfect for your next picnic.

There was enough left over butter cream to suit 12 cupcakes if you choose to make the recipe proportions larger, or enough to pipe on icing to create a high-top.

Until next time.

Love love Elle.