Recipe: Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes

Welcome back to my first recipe of 2019. This year I want to start a new series where I go back to basics and show you how to perfect them so that you can then go on and adapt them as you see fit. I'm kicking off the series with vanilla cupcakes. They're the most basic of cakes you can make and can easily be adapted by simply changing one little ingredient. These are great if you're just dipping your toe into baking or you want to go back, reflect on what you already know and grow as a baker. I for one know that is what this series is for me, sharing it with you all is just a bonus.

Ingredients
110g Caster Sugar
110g Plain Flour
110g Stork/Margarine
1 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Method 
1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place the sugar and butter. Cream together until pale and creamy in texture. You can use a stand mixer for this but I always find I get a lighter cupcake when I do it by hand. It's more time consuming and you'll end up with cramp but it's worth it.
3- Sift your dry ingredients together and add to the mix.
4- Beat your eggs in a separate bowl and add to the mix. Beat everything together until combined, taking time to scrape the sides of the bowl so everything is full incorporated.
5- Fold in your vanilla extract, giving it one last mix so nothing is left sitting on the sides of the bowl.
6- Spoon into the paper cases and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7- Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
8- And that's it. You can either leave them like that and enjoy them or you can go onto ice them so they don't look so plain.