My eggless vanilla birthday cupcakes are light, white, fluffy and super moist with lots of vanilla flavour. I’ve baked sprinkles into the sponge because there’s nothing more exciting than funfetti.
Prep Time40 minutesmins
Cook Time18 minutesmins
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
170gextra-fine self-raising cake flour
150gcaster sugar
240mlfull-fat milk at room temperature
1tspapple cider vinegar
1tbsppure vanilla extractnot vanilla essence
2tbspfull-fat milk powder
1/4tspbaking powder
1tbspcornflour
90mlsunflower oil
1/8tspsalt
2 1/2tbspcolourful sprinklesnot nonpareils
For the buttercream:
150gunsalted butterat room temperature
200gicing sugar
1tbspwhole milkat room temperature
2tspvanilla extract
Pinchof salt
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/340°F. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with 12 paper cupcake cases or 9 muffin cases.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, milk powder, cornflour, sugar and salt.
In a separate jug or glass, mix together the milk, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes, undisturbed. After 5 minutes, give it a brief whisk.
Add the oil and milk mixture to the dry ingredients and gently whisk for 40-60 seconds until smooth. Don’t overbeat the cake batter or you could end up with tough cakes.
At the last minute, fold in the sprinkles with a spatula. Be gentle and swift. Too much mixing will cause the colour from the sprinkles to bleed into the batter.
Pour the batter into the paper cases, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean. They should be springy to the touch and not too brown on top.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
To make the frosting, beat together the butter and icing sugar until fluffy and pale, about 8 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, salt and milk. Beat for a further 5 minutes until thick, light and creamy.
Frost the cooled cupcakes however you like. I love using the Wilton 1M tip fitted in a piping bag for cute, simple ruffles and rosettes. You could also just spread the frosting on using a spatula if you like. Top with extra sprinkles (as many as you like). Candles are optional, but make any cake infinitely more fun.
If you’re eating the cakes on the same day, know that frosting is the best way to preserve your cakes and keep them from going stale. If you’re keeping them for the another day, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Remove from the fridge an hour before serving to soften the cakes and frosting.
Alternatively, you can bake this cake in a greased and lined 15cm (6-inch) round x 7cm (3-inch) deep at 160°C/320°F for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in to the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then flip it out onto a wire rack to cool before decorating.