My friend Marcus ran the London Marathon For Starlight Childrens Foundation on Sunday and I offered to make cupcakes for the afterparty. He finished the marathon in an amazing 4 hours and 50 minutes! I was beat after just taking the boxes from Canary Wharf to Victoria!
The runners passing through Canary Wharf this afternoon
I offered to make 48 cupcakes. I've never made more than 24. It was a bit more work than I thought it would be. I wish I had a bigger mixing bowl! Since I was making so many for the first time I thought it would be a good idea to stick with a nice vanilla cake and buttercream.
Starlight's colors are bright blue and bright yellow. I managed to find some blue foil cases
Vanilla Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
This makes about 12. I quadrupled the recipe to get 48.
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour (I used self rising flour)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 salt
3/4 cup heavy cream (I used whipping cream)
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. Line muffin tin with standard size liners. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine cream and vanilla extract.
I ended up using 8 cups of flour
An unhealthy amount of whipping cream!
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of the cream mixture beating until just combined.
The bowl was so full with this super batch that the mixer couldn't reach the bottom!
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes and icing.
That is a lot of cupcakes!
Ready to be frosted
Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
From Martha Stewart CupcakesIngredients
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
1 pounds icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Yellow gel food coloring
1. With an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Reduce speed to medium. Add the icing sugar ½ cup at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate the frosting, then return to medium. This should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be pale and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth, add small amount of yellow gel food coloring to achieve a bright color, and beat until color shows through.
To Decorate
Pipe frosting in center and gently bring up to achieve the swirl-puff and add the glitter you want before the icing becomes stiff. If you don't have a piping bag use a spatula and 1/4 cup of frosting to make a nice rounded top.
It's easier to fill your piping bag when you put it inside a tall glass and turn down the sides. This lets you use both hands
Baked, frosted and packaged at 1.30am!
I brought the cupcakes over to the party and people were calling them "yellow muffins"!
I had a great time making these cupcakes and the kids and their families that were at the party really seemed to enjoy them!
