Not quite Nigella

During my time in Perth, I have somehow fell in love with baking (to my mum’s delight), and after a few trials and errors, have successfully bake a number of cakes, muffins, and quiches. But my favourite one to make is cupcakes. I love the process of mixing the dough, anxiously waiting for it to rise, and the best part of all- decorating it. This is where I put the most effort in. Choosing between fresh cream and butter cream for the icing, tying ribbons around the cakes, and finding pretty ornaments to be put on top- I can go on and on with this…

Ever since I came back to Jakarta, it is very hard to find the time to bake, so when an event came up and there was an opportunity to make a dozen cupcakes, I volunteered myself. Now, the last time I made cupcakes in my Jakarta’s house was over a year ago, so to minimize the risk (and to make sure that our oven is still fine), I made the cupcakes the night before, and did the decoration the next morning.

I made vanilla cupcakes out of Nigella Lawson’s wonderful cookbook, and decorate it with pink icing and a combination of pink and white rose buds. Thankfully, my friends seem to like it and it is definitely worth the effort!

Vanilla cupcakes recipe
Ingredients:
125 g self raising flour
125 g very soft, unsalted butter
125 g sugar
2 eggs
Pinch salt
Few tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 200C, and line 12 bun muffin tin with paper cases. Beat the butter and sugar together, pour the eggs and flour, and add milk to bind. Using a spoon, fill the cake-cases equally and bake for 20 minutes or so, until cooked.

Once cool, we can start with the decoration. Here, I use icing sugar as fresh cream would melt easily in this humid weather. Just beat icing sugar, a little butter, a few tablespoons milk, and a drop of pink food colouring, pour it on top of each cupcake, and top it off with pretty rose buds.

xoxo
Carol