Small and delicious, cupcakes are a favorite treat of many children and adults. In fact, trendy shops devoted just to making cupcakes are opening up in major cities across the U.S. While baking cupcakes from a packaged mix is very simple, it also limits your choices in regards to flavors and styles. Add a personal, homemade touch to your next batch of cupcakes by baking them from scratch. Your first step will be to gather your ingredients. Make a list of everything you need so when you go to your local shopping center or grocery store you won’t forget anything and won’t have to make more than one trip. Once you have bought all your ingredients and anything else you may need to bake with head home and prepare to bake up a tasty storm.
First you’re going to preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Then add 2 cups of sifted cake and pastry flour, 2 tsp. of baking powder, 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk the ingredients together. Use an electric mixer, set on a low setting, to mix 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of softened butter, 1/2 cup of milk and 1 tsp. of vanilla into the dry ingredients. Beat this mixture on high speed for approximately two minutes. Grease a muffin pan, or line it with paper muffin liners. Spoon the cupcake batter into the muffin cups until each one is three-quarters full. Bake the cupcakes in the center of your preheated oven for approximately 18 minutes. Insert a cake tester into the center of one of the cupcakes - if the cake tester comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. o Transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely or else when you go to decorate them they will break apart. Once they have cooled off its time to decorate them. You can’t have a cupcake without frosting. Take the frosting of your choice and put it in a piping bag. In a circular motion squeeze the frosting onto the cupcake till the top is completely covered. Then if you choose,