Everyone needs a cupcake recipe that is easy to make and works every time … and this is it.
I originally saw this recipe being made on Masterchef some years ago by Julia Taylor ( see here ) and have adapted the one recipe to make either chocolate or vanilla cupcakes.
I have not used a Thermomix for the batter as it is so easy to put together, but I have however used the Thermomix for the icing.
If you are time poor and need to make a lot of cupcakes for an event in a few days time, then the icing can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge … take out of the fridge the morning that you plan to ice the cakes so that it comes to room temperature. Before icing you will need to stir it with a spoon to loosen it up, then place into your piping bag (if using one) or spread with a knife over your cakes. Leftover icing can be frozen in a sealed container … great for when you just want a little to cover a small cake, or a small number of cupcakes.
The cupcakes can be made ahead too and frozen un-iced in a sealed container, just take out of the freezer the morning that you wish to ice them. Allow to come to room temperature before icing.
When iced the cupcakes will keep well for a couple of days at room temperature in a sealed container … if the weather is hot then they will need to be kept somewhere cool, but not in the fridge as they will go hard and can dry out. If you choose to store them in the fridge, remove them at least a couple of hours before serving so that they have time to come to room temperature before consuming.
For the icing, like all things, flavour will always come down to the quality of the chocolate you use. So don’t skimp on this part … get the best quality you can afford. I have recently been using Belgian couverture chocolate, but prior to that I was using Whittakers chocolate with great success. The quantity is enough to cover 20 cupcakes depending on how you choose to use it.
I have not used a Thermomix for the batter as it is so easy to put together, but I have however used the Thermomix for the icing.
If you are time poor and need to make a lot of cupcakes for an event in a few days time, then the icing can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge … take out of the fridge the morning that you plan to ice the cakes so that it comes to room temperature. Before icing you will need to stir it with a spoon to loosen it up, then place into your piping bag (if using one) or spread with a knife over your cakes. Leftover icing can be frozen in a sealed container … great for when you just want a little to cover a small cake, or small cupcakes.
The cupcakes can be made ahead too and frozen un-iced in a sealed container, just take out of the freezer the morning that you wish to ice them. Allow them to come to room temperature before icing. Iced the cupcakes will keep well for a couple of days at room temperature in a covered container … if the weather is hot, then they will need to be kept somewhere cool, but not in the fridge as they will go hard and can dry out. If you choose to store them in the fridge, remove them at least a couple of hours before serving so that they have time to come to room temperature before eating.
For the icing, like all things, flavour will always come down to the quality of the chocolate you use. So don’t skimp on this part … get the best quality you can afford. I have recently been using Belgian couverture chocolate, but prior to that I was using Whittakers chocolate with great success. The quantity is enough to cover 20 cupcakes depending on how you choose to use it.
- 150g light olive oil
- 75g buttermilk
- 75g full cream milk
- 1 x 59g egg
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 240g white spelt flour / or plain flour
- 40g raw cacao powder / or cocoa powder (for chocolate cupcakes)
- or
- 40g custard powder (for vanilla cupcakes)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes (or ¼ tsp fine sea salt)
- 330g golden caster sugar
- 150g boiling water (from just boiled kettle)
- 250g 60-70% dark chocolate (for dark chocolate icing)
- or
- 250g white chocolate (for white chocolate icing)
- 100g butter, room temperature
- 250g cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- 500g icing sugar
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced
- Place cupcake liners into your muffin tray … recipe makes 14 so you will use two trays, one with 12 and the other with 2
- In a mixing bowl stir together with a whisk the flour, cacao or custard powder, baking powder, salt and golden caster sugar (I use a whisk because it helps to incorporate the ingredients together more fully than with a spoon)
- In another bowl stir together with the whisk (don’t beat, just stir to incorporate) the light olive oil, buttermilk, milk, egg and vanilla bean paste
- Boil the kettle and place 150g boiled water into a jug
- You will now have three containers: the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients, and the boiled water
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir (not beat) with the whisk, add ½ the boiling and continue stirring, then add another ⅓ of dry and stir, then add the last ½ of the boiling water, stir, and finally the last ⅓ of the dry and stir
- Pour mixture into cupcake liners filling up to ⅔rd full (I find it easier to dispense some of the batter into a smaller jug and fill the cupcake liners this way … saves having too quick a flow from the larger bowl … for this I use a metal milk jug from the coffee machine which has a great spout for pouring)
- Bake for 12 minutes, turn tray around and bake for a further 8 minutes (it takes 20 minutes to bake in my oven)
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing to a cake rack to cool completely before icing
- Break chocolate into pieces (if it is not already in small pellets)
- Place into TM bowl and mill 5-10 seconds (depending on size of pieces) x speed 9
- Scrape around sides, then melt 6 minutes / 50 degrees / speed 3 (pause and scrape after 3 minutes if the chocolate is not melting uniformly … you want it to be completely melted so keep going until it is all liquid … if after 6 minutes it still has some small lumps, scrape around bowl and melt for another minute)
- Set aside … do not clean TM bowl
- Add butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract and salt to TM bowl and mix 10 seconds / speed 5, scrape around sides and repeat 5 seconds / speed 5
- Add icing sugar first to the ™ bowl, then place the melted chocolate on top
- Mix 15 seconds / speed 10, scrape around bowl, repeat for another 10 seconds / speed 10, scrape around bowl, and repeat for a final 2 seconds / speed 10
- Remove mix to a piping bag (if using) or a bowl so that you can more easily spread the icing onto your cupcakes
- Decorate cupcakes as desired and allow the icing to set at room temperature before storing or eating (I usually let them sit for an hour and then store ... you should be able to touch the icing lightly without it sticking to your finger)
Hi Gina I’ve made these twice now, and the chocolate ones have been prefect each time, however the vanilla ones didn’t rise as much and stayed a bit flat. The mixture was a bit runnier than the chocolate, so I’m thinking next time to increase the amount of custard powder. They also took 25-30min in my oven. But the taste is a winner according to my family and much nicer than the standard cupcake recipes floating around on the inter web. I just stick to regular buttercream, my family just weren’t fans of the cream cheese unfortunately. Thanks again for a great recipe!
Hi Tamarra … thanks so much again for your feedback … that is so strange about the vanilla cupcakes … I know that cocoa has a “drying” effect on batter so I find it perfect for the chocolate ones, but when I have used the custard powder for the vanilla ones I found they also rose too so not sure what has happened there. It could come down to the type of custard powder used too … as you would know Tamarra … baking can throw up more questions than answers because of the “science” behind it, but the important thing is that you like the flavour and maybe by adding an extra 10 or 20g of custard powder than may help … I think I am going to have to have another go at these to recheck them myself as I haven’t made them in a while … love that you are happy to give me feedback. And Tamarra … there is no point in using the icing if it is not to your family’s liking, after all that is who we mainly bake for, and it is so important they enjoy all of your wonderful efforts xo Gina
Hi Tamarra … I had to make some cupcakes for Bryan’s work so took the opportunity of retesting the vanilla ones … I followed the recipe exactly and they came out fine … the only thing I did differently is that I used only 12 cupcakes holders instead of 14 … I didn’t even realise I was doing that until I got to the end and then decided not to take any mix out of the patty cases and leave them as they are. I posted a pic on the FB page today if you wish to have a peek … they rose really well like they normally do … I am trying to work out why this may have happened to you but can’t be sure … did you bake them straight after making them or did they sit waiting to go into the oven for a while? I know that if I leave a second batch waiting too long they can loose some of their “rise” … I am also wondering if your baking powder may have been inactive too? If you haven’t come across that here is a short post to explain what happens when that occurs, and how to test for it:
http://www.mnn.com/food/recipes/blogs/how-to-test-baking-powder-and-baking-soda-to-ensure-theyre-active
Apart form that Tamarra I can’t be sure, so wish I knew the answer as it is a bit frustrating, but I am really happy that you like the flavour so that is an added bonus xo Gina
Hi Gina, I’m still not sure why the first batch of vanilla ones didn’t work, all that time ago, but I’ve made both the chocolate and vanilla cucpcakes regularly lately and I’ve found they rose adequately. I have found adding an extra teaspoon of baking powder gives them an even lighter texture, so I’ve stuck with that extra bit as a regular addition. And as I tend not to have buttermilk in my fridge handy, I just use Greek or vanilla yoghurt instead, works perfectly. A great recipe! Tamarra