Vanilla Cupcakes
Prepare carefully. Work safely. Evaluate honestly.
- Serves / makes
- 6 servings — 6 cupcakes; 1 each
- Preparation
- 20 minutes
- Cooking
- 18–22 minutes
- Total time
- 40–45 minutes, plus cooling and icing
Heat / oven setting180°C conventional / 160°C fan
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 62.5g for cakes + 37.5g for icing | |
| 62.5g | |
| 1 | |
| 62.5g | |
| 1 tbsp | |
| 0.5 tsp for cakes + 0.25 tsp for icing | |
| 75g |
Tick ingredients as you prepare them. Ticks reset when you reload.
Equipment
- Digital scales and measuring spoons
- Mixing bowls and sieve
- Wooden spoon or electric whisk
- Baking tray or tin, as directed
- Baking paper
- Wire cooling rack
- Oven gloves
- 12-hole muffin tin
- 6 paper cases
- Skewer
- Piping bag or palette knife
Method
Prepare
Preheat oven. Put 6 paper cases into a muffin tin. Weigh cake and icing ingredients separately. Only fill six holes in the muffin tin.
Cream and beat
Beat 62.5g butter and caster sugar until light. Add eggs gradually, beating after each addition. Add a spoonful of the flour if it starts to curdle.
Fold
Sift in remaining flour and fold gently. Stir in 0.5 tsp vanilla and enough milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
Bake
Divide between cases. Bake for 18–22 minutes until risen and a clean skewer inserted in the centre comes out without wet batter.
Cool
Cool briefly in the tin, then move to a rack. Do not ice while warm. Do not taste uncooked cake mixture.
Ice
Beat 37.5g butter with sifted icing sugar and 0.25 tsp vanilla. Spread or pipe evenly onto completely cold cakes.
Portion for six
Makes 6 cupcakes; 1 each. Divide evenly between six people.
Food safety
- Wash hands, clean surfaces, tie back hair and use clean equipment. Check use-by dates and ingredient labels before starting.
- Do not taste uncooked dough or batter: raw flour and eggs can carry harmful bacteria. Use oven gloves and take care with hot trays, sugar and steam.
- Cool bakes on a clean rack. Keep plain dry bakes in a clean airtight container; refrigerate any perishable meat, dairy or cream-filled items promptly. Freeze extra portions if needed.
Guidance: Food Standards Agency cooking advice ↗
Nutritional considerations
Cakes and icing contain sugar and saturated fat. Consistent portions and a modest layer of icing help control the amount.
Practical skills
Creaming, folding, portioning cake batter and simple icing.
Presentation
Use clean serving equipment, divide evenly and wipe the plate or dish edges. Check the finished food against your planned colour, texture and appearance.
Evaluate your practical
Describe the appearance, flavour, texture and a skill you used successfully.
Explain one improvement to the recipe, your timings or your technique.
Classroom adaptation written from the recipe title in your collection. Review portions, ingredients and timings with your teacher before a practical.
Times are approximate. Quantities are for the stated yield; accompanying foods are included only when listed. This learning sheet does not itself award a qualification.