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Here's a plain vanilla cupcake recipe which you can use for just about anything!


Ingredients

125 g softened, unsalted butter
250 g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
185 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 c milk

Preheat your oven to 180C and line 1 and a half cupcake trays.

In a small bowl sift in the flour, baking soda and salt and place to the side for now.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla. One by one add the eggs, beating well after each to keep the air in.

Using a very low speed, add a quarter of the flour to the egg mix, then a quarter of the milk, removing the beater as soon as they're mixed. Continue until all the flour and liquid has been added. It's important to not over mix the batter on this one - always use the lowest speed and stop often.

Divide the batter evenly into the trays, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they are golden and a skewer comes out clean.

Icing

60g icing sugar
2-3 tsp hot water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl then add the liquid and mix until smooth. Drizzle the icing over cool cupcakes so it drips a little down the sides. If you're serving these for a party, top with fresh raspberries or even little chucks of mango. Yum!

Note: You can half the amount of vanilla extract and top it up with a different flavour in both the cake and icing. For example you could use, 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp of strawberry essence. keep the vanilla in the mix however as it gives a great depth to the flavour.

I'm currently addicted to Subway's macadamia cookies, so I took my white chocolate cupcake recipe and embellished it a bit!

Ingredients

125 g unsalted butter
1/2 c castor sugar
3 eggs
80 g white chocolate bits
3/4 c plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinammon
1 c finely chopped macadamia nuts

Line a 12 hole cupcake tray with wrappers. and preheat your oven to 180C.

Sift your dry incredients into a bowl, along with the chopped macadamias. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

Slowly add the dry ingredients then beat for 4 minutes on high.. Add the white chocolate pieces and mix for a further minute or until they're well distributed.

Divide the batter among the cases and bake for 20 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly pressed.

Icing

2 c icing sugar
1/4 c cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
50g bar of white chocolate, melted
water

Combine all the ingredients except for the water - slowly add the water until the icing is the right consistancy.

Buttermilk isn't really widely available here, and I've always wanted to try it. So... When I came across some in the supermarket, I had to find a recipe I could use it in, and it had to be this one!

Ingredients

Butterm

Another on my list of Christmas cupcakes... I'm not really a fan of honey but the mixed spice and cinnamon make up for it! These can be topped with a whip

The pineapple cupcake went down a treat, but mum's now pushing the boat out by wanting a beetroot cupcake! This recipe uses canned beetroot because I'm far too lazy to cook a raw one, and has a chocolate fudge icing just to make me happy...


Ingredients

1 can sliced beetroot (approx 400g)
125 g butter
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c self raising flour
1/4 c cocoa
1/4 c milk
100 g dark chocolate, finely chopped





Preheat your oven to 180 C and line 2 x 12 hole cupcake tins.

Drain the beetroot and finely chop in a processor or with a hand blender. Sift the flour and cocoa into a small bowl. Put both the beetroot and the sifted ingredients to the side for now.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix on a slow speed, then add the milk and beetroot. Pop the chocolate into the microwave until it's mostly melted, then add to the batter. Beat on high for 4 minutes.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the cupcake spring back lighty (I find they take about 1/2 hr in my oven).

Note: You do not need to melt the chocolate if you prefer chunks!

Icing

50g butter
50 g dark chocolate
3 TBS milk
1 TBS vanilla essence
2 c icing sugar
4 tsp cocoa powder

Place the butter, chocolate, milk and vanilla into a small pan, and heat on a low heat until melted. Remove from heat and let the mix cool for a few minutes.

Sift the sugar and cocoa into bowl, then add the chocolate mix. Beat until smooth, then place in the fridge for around 10 minutes, or until it thickens enough to spread.

Nutella is the most addictive spread on earth and I'll find any excuse to put in into anything! I discovered banana, Nutella and cream crêpe when I was last in Wellington, and wanted to make a cupcake version, with a banana and Nutella cake, and a cream icing.

These cupcakes are great for parties, because they're made with cheapo cake mix (I use the budget range), meaning hardly any time and effort is needed. Plus they have Nutella in them - how much more awesome can you get?

Ingredients

1 packet butter cake mix (approx. 350 g)
1 packet instant banana pudding
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/8 c vegetable oil
1/2 c mashed banana
small jar Nutella

Preheat your oven to 175 and line a 12 hole cupcake tray.

Throw the cake mix into a bowl, and add the egg and milk. Mix on medium until blended, then add the instant pudding, vegetable oil and mashed banana. Mix on high for 4 minutes until really smooth.

Fill each cupcake liner to approx. 3/4, then add a teaspoon of nutella to the top of each cupcake. The nutella is heavy, so will sink into the mix as it bakes, you do not need to cover it!

Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, or until the cake springs back.

Icing

5 TBS flour
1 c cream
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Heat the milk on the stove and add the flour. Stir until thickened and then remove from the heat. Let the mixture cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Cream the butter and sugar, then once light and fluffy then add the vanilla and cream mixture. Whip on high until creamy.

I was looking for a pineapple cupcake recipe, because my mum lurves pineapple and until now I've forced my own cupcake preferences onto her! I've removed any actual alcohol from the recipe, but you can replace the rum essence with rum if you prefer.

Ingredients

1 1/3 c flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1/3 c pineapple juice
3 tsp rum extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 size 7 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/3 c shredded coconut
1/3 c crushed pineapple, well drained

Preheat oven to 175 C and line a 12 hole cupcake tin, and half of another (this makes 18 cupcakes).

Into a bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then add the coconut. Put the dry ingredients to the side while you combine the wet.

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter, pineapple juice, rum extract, and vanilla until it turns a lighter colour. One at a time add the eggs and egg yolk, beating for about 30 secs in between each.

Once the eggs are mixed in, add the dry ingredients a little at a time to the liquid, beating for a few seconds in between. Once all the dry ingredients have been added, beat the mixture on high for 4 minutes. Finally, fold in the pineapple.

Fill the cupcake liners to approx. 3/4, and bake for 20 mins. The cupcakes are very moist when they come out, don't worry about this! You can assure yourself by testing the cupcake with a toothpick just to make sure it comes out clean.

Icing

140 g cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c butter (softened)
1 c powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut essence
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp lemon juice (bottled is perfectly fine)

Cream all the ingredients until smooth and pop into the fridge until the cupcakes are cooked and cooled. I love to randomly put cocktail umbrellas in the cupcakes just to make them look more like the namesake, but you could also sprinkle them with a little more dessicated coconut.