Vanilla Cupcakes

These cupcakes are vegan and eggless and great for birthday cupcakes to ice and then add your favourite sprinkles and decorations!  I would like to think that the method is easy enough for a beginner and I really love the fact that there’s not sifting or complicated measurements involved.

You can also make this gluten free by replacing the plain flour with gluten free flour and adding a 1/2 teaspoon of Xanthum Gum. You may need to vary the baking time.

Makes 10 – 12 cupcakes.

What you need:

1. 1.5 cups plain/all purpose flour
2. 1 cup caster sugar
3. 1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 3/4 cup milk of your choice
6. 1/2 cup oil (any flavourless oil is fine but I use vegetable oil)
7. 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract
8. 2 tablespoons Cider vinegar

For the vanilla icing:

1. 1 cup of non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (or room temp. butter if you are not vegan)
2. 3 cups icing sugar
3. 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
4. 3 – 4 tablespoons of milk

Vegetable shortening in the UK can be found in most supermarkets e.g. “Trex” is a common brand name

How to make it:

1. Set your oven to 180 C (oven temperatures may vary). Mine is a fan assisted oven.  Put cupcake cases in your cupcake tin.
2. Mix the wet ingredients 5 – 8 together in a bowl and keep aside
3. Put the dry ingredients 1 – 4 together in a separate bowl and mix well using a whisk.
4. Add wet ingredients to the dry and work swiftly to mix all ingredients using a wooden spoon. Do not over beat! Just ensure the ingredients are combined well.
5. Put equal quantities of the mixture in the cupcake cases. I find it easy to use an ice cream scoop.
6. Bake for about 20mins or until the cupcakes are cooked through by checking with a toothpick. If the toothpick shows that the mixture is still a little wet then you need to put the cakes back in for a few more minutes.
7. Cool the cupcakes completely before you apply the icing.

Vanilla Icing:

1. Whisk the shortening/butter for about 2 minutes in a bowl. Then add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisk again for another 2 minutes.
2. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a smooth, spreading consistency (you may not need all of it).
3. Pipe or spread the icing on your cooled cupcakes and add any edible sprinkles for extra decoration 🙂