Ingredients
Vanilla cupcakes
Glace icing
Method
Vanilla cupcakes
1.Preheat oven to 180°C fanbake. Line muffin or cupcake pans with paper cases. (Don’t spray cases with non-stick spray or the cakes will fall out of the cases.)
2.Place all the ingredients in a food processor – don’t beat by hand for this recipe – and process until absolutely smooth (about 1-2 minutes). The mixture should be a soft, dropping consistency.
3.Use a dessertspoon and your index finger to slide the batter into the paper cases. Fill them around 2/3 full – the mixture will rise as it bakes.
4.Bake both pans at once for 15–20 minutes, or until well risen and golden. Remove cakes from pans and allow to cool before decorating with icing.
Glace icing
5.Place the icing sugar in a bowl. Add a few drops of natural colouring if you wish – see opposite page for ideas. (For chocolate glacé icing, add 1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder to the icing sugar, depending on how dark you want it.)
6.Add some water or juice, a little bit at a time, and stir with a butter knife until well mixed. The icing sugar takes a few seconds to absorb the liquid and dissolve, so make sure you wait after each stir before adding more liquid.
7.If it is too runny, just sprinkle in another spoonful of icing sugar and mix until it reaches the consistency you want.
8.If the icing begins to set in the bowl, give it a good stir and add a drop of water. Ice and decorate the cupcakes one at a time. (If you ice them all first, the icing will set and the decorations won’t stick.)
9.Decorate with lollies and candy or crystallised flowers
