That Old Favourite:

Right! First out is not the absolute simplest of things out there (don't let that put you off, though, they are still fairly easy and so worth it) but what seems to be in über-high demand as of late. That's right! You guessed it: Cupcakes!

I also have a rather large aversion to excess complication so in my recipe hunting time, I managed to create a 'universal cupcake base' that works with almost every flavour and only needs the odd tweaking when used with very particular flavours, it is as follows:

For 12-16 cupcakes (I use muffin cases because I'm cool like that)

90g unsalted butter, softened
270g golden caster sugar
240g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
240ml whole milk
2 large eggs

I bake all my cupcakes at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 and if you have a fan oven remember to lower temperature by 20°C.

Ok, so first off you need to put your paper cases in the muffin tins. 

Now, with a hand mixer (or if you're lucky enough a stand mixer - I am very jealous of you) slowly beat together the first 5 ingredients until you get something that vaguely resembles breadcrumbs/sand. Add them in order (i.e. butter + sugar, then + flour etc...)

At this stage do not worry if you fear that everything is not 100% incorporated - just go with the flow and any small lumps of butter should disappear when you add the flour and later, the milk mixture.

If using any essences or what not, these need to be added to the milk along with the eggs and by hand in a jug. Pour this in bit by bit until everything is even and then add the last smidgen of the mix and whizz on medium speed and you'll end up with a silky smooth batter.

Pour into muffin cases and don't make the mistake I made for years of filling the cases too much. Do not exceed ½ to ⅔ full. That way they won't overspill/explode (depending on how often the leprechauns bless you).

Pop in the oven for 18-20 minutes and they should be springy and a lovely gold colour. Enjoy!

You can't buy happiness; but you can buy cupcakes 

Variations on the Standard Cupcake:

Apple & Walnut - Add in an extra 1½ tsp ground cinnamon. Peel, core and chop 2 Granny Smiths into 1cm pieces and add fold into finished batter. Finish with cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of cinnamon along with walnut halves.

Apple Blossom - Make an apple tea with 4 tbsp apple iced-tea powder and 3 tbsp boiled water. Add this to the milk. Make a standard buttercream but dissolve 4 more tbsp in the milk beforehand.

Banoffee - Add 1 tsp vanilla extract to milk in sponge then mush up 2 ripe bananas and stir into finished batter. *Icing separately published*

Boston Cream - Add 1 tsp vanilla extract to sponge. Make a filling by bringing 250ml whole milk and ½ tsp vanilla extract to the boil. Meanwhile whisk 2 large egg yolks with 50g caster sugar, 1 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp cornflour by hand. Once the milk is boiling add 4-5 tbsp of egg mix to loosen. Return to the boil, whisking constantly to avoid lumps and boil for at least 1 minute to ensure flour is properly cooked. Once thickened, pour custard into a bowl and cover with clingfilm to prevent a skin and leave to cool for 30-40 minutes. Make a buttercream frosting but replace 100g of icing sugar with cocoa powder and add a dash more milk.

Candy-Cane - Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the sponge. Make a buttercream with 4 tsp peppermint essence. Separate mix into two halves and add a dash or red food colour paste/liquid to one half. Fill a piping bag with the two colours so that they're next to each other, not one above the other and pipe!

Caramel -  Add ½ tsp vanilla extract to the sponge and after adding the milk-egg mixture, stir in 150g tinned caramel or 'dulce de leche'. Make a buttercream and pipe cool shapes onto the cupcakes using approximately 100g more caramel.

Cherry - Make the sponge as usual then stir in by hand 150g Kirsch-soaked cherries, drained, pitted and chopped, making sure they are evenly distributed. Again make a buttercream and stir in 80g more cherries plus extra whole ones dipped in melted dark chocolate to decorate.

Cherry Blossom - Like with the Apple Blossom but instead use 3 cherry blossom teabags and leave to draw in boiled water for 30 minutes. Add to milk but retain teabags. Infuse buttercream frosting milk with teabags for 30 minutes and make sure to give them a good squeeze.

Chocolate - Replace 40g flour with 40g cocoa powder in the sponge. In the buttercream, replace 100g icing sugar with 100g cocoa powder and cover in sprinkles etc...

Chocolate Fondant - Replace 40g flour with 40g cocoa powder in the sponge. Make a cheat's ganache by heating 400ml double cream just to boiling point and pouring over 400g finely chopped dark chocolate. Wait until the chocolate has melted then give it a stir until smooth then cover with clingfilm and leave to cool.

Coca-Cola - Simply add 1 tbsp cola syrup to the sponge and 2 tbsp to the buttercream. Decorate with Haribos!

Earl Grey - Leave 3 Earl Grey teabags to brew for 30 minutes in 3 tbsp boiled water. Add this to the egg-milk mixture making sure to squeeze the teabags into the egg-milk mix. Top with plain buttercream.

Eggnog - Leave the sponge as it is but top with a buttercream flavoured with 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and 2 tsp rum. Top with funky X-mas decorations, edible if possible.

Espresso - Lightly warm the milk without boiling it and dissolve in 20g instant espresso powder. Leave to cool and proceed as usual. For the buttercream frosting,  you can either heat the milk and dissolve in 16g powder or you can use coffee essence, if available. A few drops should do.

Fruit tea - Make as for Earl Grey but use summer fruits/mixed berries teabags and perhaps top the buttercream with sliced or whole, if small enough, fruit.

Orangeade - Make exactly as per lemonade but replace the quantities of lemonade syrup with fizzy orange syrup and top with orange jelly sweets.

Hot-Chocolate - Gently warm the milk, without boiling and dissolve in 25g hot chocolate powder (Green & Blacks, of course) and leave to cool. Repeat with the milk used in the buttercream but this time dissolve in 30g.

Jasmine - Make as rose but replace the rosewater with jasmine tea. Put 3 white jasmine teabags in 35ml boiled water and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Add this to the milk-egg mixture in the sponge. Retain the teabags and infuse the milk for the buttercream with the teabags.

Lemon & Cranberry - Add 1½ tsp finely grated lemon zest, 1½ tsp vanilla extract and 100g dried cranberries, dried and tossed in flour to the sponge. Make a buttercream frosting but add a dash of lemon juice and sprinkle over a few more cranberries.

Lemon Meringue - Add 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest to sponge and hollow out a section. Add a dollop of lemon curd/jam and replace the sponge 'hat'. Top with a meringue frosting *appearing later*

Lemonade - Add 1 tbsp lemonade syrup and ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest to the sponge. Then make a buttercream, adding 1 tsp finely grated zest and 2 tbsp lemonade syrup. Top with lemon jelly sweets or slices.

Marbled - Make the batter as usual but divide mix into two. Add ½ tsp vanilla extract to one and 20g cocoa powder to the other. Fill the cases to a ⅓ full with chocolate mix then to ⅔ full using the vanilla mix on top. Swirl the two gently with the stick of a spoon and bake. Top with ½ buttercream recipe with ¼ tsp vanilla extract and ½ buttercream recipe where 50g icing sugar has been replaced with cocoa powder. Mix the two frostings gently together and spread on.

Mocha - Gently warm, without boiling, the milk and dissolve in 15g hot chocolate powder (Green & Blacks all the way!) and 5g instant espresso powder. Leave to cool and use as normal. Similarly heat the milk for the buttercream and dissolve in 30g hot chocolate powder. However if this seems a bit too chocolatey you may wish to add 1 - 2 drops of coffee essence but be careful, like almond extract, it is very potent! A little goes a long way.

Orange Blossom - Again, like apple blossom but use 1 tbsp orange blossom water in sponge and 3 tsp in the frosting added to the milk in both cases.

Peppermint - Make as the Earl Grey but use peppermint teabags.

Rose - Flavour the sponge with 1 tbsp rosewater added to the egg-milk mixture. Top with a buttercream flavoured with 3 tsp rosewater and top with candied rose petals or crystallised rose petals *coming soon*.

S'more - Replace 40g flour with 40g cocoa powder in the sponge. Finely grate 30g chilled dark chocolate and blitz 5 digestive biscuits in a food processor. Sprinkle the chocolate and approximately ¾ of the biscuits over the batter before baking. *Top with a meringue frosting, appearing later* and sprinkle over remaining biscuits and dark chocolate squares.

Vanilla - Add ½ tsp vanilla extract to sponge. Top with buttercream flavoured with ½ tsp vanilla extract and divide mix and experiment with food dyes to achieve pretty pastel colours for the frosting and don't forget the sprinkles!

Violet - Make as with rose but use ¼ tsp violet essence in the sponge and 2 drops in the buttercream instead of rosewater. Decorate with sugar paste flowers (shop-bought or home-made).

Extras:

So, as promised...

Banoffee Topping (for Banoffee Cupcakes):

500ml whole milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

5 egg yolks

100g caster sugar

60g flour: ½ plain flour, ½ cornflour

100g tinned caramel or 'dulce de leche'

200ml double cream

Add the vanilla to the milk and bring to the boil. In another bowl, blend yolks, sugar, flour to a paste and a tsp or 2 of hot milk to loosen if it seems really gritty and too thick.

When the milk has boiled, you want to add 4 - 5 tbsp to the paste and stir together till evenly blended and subsequently put all the paste into the milk. Return to the hob.

Bring mix back to the boil and whisk it non-stop and cook for 1 - 2 minutes more to make sure the flour is properly cooked.

Take away from the heat and whisk in the caramel. Pour this mix into a bowl/tray with a large surface area, lined with clingfilm and leave it to cool entirely (approximately 30 - 40 minutes).

Now, pour into a big mixing bowl and bash it with a wooden spoon to get rid of any pesky lumps. In another bowl, whisk the cream to soft (but not too soft - think just a bit more than McFlurry) and gently incorporate.

Buttercream (enough for the cupcake recipes):

500g icing sugar

160g butter, über-soft

50ml whole milk

Using a wooden spoon, bash the butter around the bowl until the base appears to have an even coverage up to halfway up the sides. Gently sieve in the sugar and mix together with a fork to begin with, otherwise you'll end up with Hiroshima in your kitchen! When you can't see any sugar any more, add the milk dropwise and any other liquids you may have (i.e. dyes or flavours (see variations)); and then it's time to get out the electric hand mixer (or stand mixer, if you're lucky) and blitz it, to really make it as light and fluffy as possible.

Meringue Frosting:

200g caster sugar

4 egg whites

*Warning - you'll need a BIG bowl*

Place sugar in a pan and cover with 150ml water and bring it to the boil. In the meantime, whisk the egg whites until just foamy.

Let the sugar boil for 10 minutes (or thereabouts) until it reaches the soft-ball stage (115°C). At this stage a small amount tossed in a bowl of cold water should form a squidgy ball. Take off the heat.

Now, mix the eggs to soft peaks and begin pouring in the sugar syrup very slowly. When all sugar has been added increase the mixer speed to high and whisk until the bottom of the bowl feels lukewarm. It should have quadrupled in size. You're aiming for it to go very white, smooth and fairly shiny. You can then stick it under the grill/blowtorch for a few seconds.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

600g icing sugar

100g butter, very soft

250g full-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia is good)

Bash the butter with a wooden spoon in a bowl so halfway up the sides and the base appear to be smeared evenly. Add the icing sugar and mix gently with a fork or else all hell will break loose. Try and get as much sugar gone before beating it with a hand mixer. Add the cheese and mix on a medium speed until the frosting is light and smooth. Be careful not to overmix as the cheese can split unlike typical buttercream where longer = better.

Noël Cupcakes:

300g mixed dried fruit (currants, raisins, cranberries, etc...)

100ml dark rum

200g butter, softened

200g soft dark brown sugar (if it's clumpy just smash it with a fork)

4 large eggs

160g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp mixed spice (NOT Chinese 5 Spice)

60g ground almonds

OK, so to begin with you want to soak your fruit overnight in the rum.

OVEN: 190°C / 375°F / Gas 5 and fill trays with muffin cases approximately (12 - 16).

With a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until they go light-ish and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and mix on a medium speed. Make sure to scrape around the sides of the bowl for any unmixed ingredients. Also, to help prevent mixture from curdling, take some flour from the designated 160g and add 2tbsp with the last 2 eggs (one each).

Now, sieve in the flour, baking powder and spice and beat slowly until well blended. Next, add the almonds and the fruit, drained and you can give it a tad more kick if you want by reserving 1tsp/tbsp of soaking rum to add to the batter.

Fill the cases till ½ full and bake for 18 - 20 minutes then make a buttercream and ice them once completely cool. 

Plum Cupcakes:

120g butter, softened lots

350g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

4 large egg yolks

350g soft light brown sugar

180ml buttermilk 

(If in the UK, I tend to be able to find this easiest at Morrison's, if not, put 180ml whole milk in a bowl and add a few squirts of lemon juice and give it a few minutes - you should notice the change)

340g plum jam

As with all cupcakes, oven: 190/375/G5 (Remember fan = -20).

Now, with a hand mixer, beat together the butter, flour, baking powder and salt until you get something vaguely resembling gritty crumbs.

In a measuring jug, beat together by hand the egg, sugar and buttermilk and 120g of the jam until homogeneous. Add this mix to the dry little by little, beating thoroughly all the time. Next, increase the speed and mix until silky smooth.

Fill the cases but alternate between a layer of batter, a thin drizzle of remaining jam and more batter; but only once, so there should be approximately 1.5 inches of batter separated by a thin layer of jam. BUT remember you still need 70g of jam, people!

Once baked (18 - 20 minutes) cool completely and make a buttercream. Stir in 70g jam to the cream and get creative with that piping!

Gingerbread Cupcakes:

150g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

120g syrup: ½ dark treacle, ½ golden syrup

2 large eggs + 2 yolks

300g plain flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp each of : salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg

240ml hot, but not boiled, milk

OVEN: usual. Beat the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Then add the syrup with the egg and beat for a while until everything is well and truly incorporated.

Next sieve in the dry ingredients and the spices in 3 additions, mixing on a low speed. Alternate between the dry ingredients and some milk. By the end it should be super velvety!

Bake for the usual 18 - 20 minutes and don't fill the cases past ⅔ of the way!!

Frost with a cream cheese frosting, flavoured with a tsp finely grated lemon zest + a dash of juice. If you have a zester, draw long strands of zest and put these on top - they look very pretty!

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes:

Well, it is doubtful that you know me personally, however one of my favourite warming desserts to order in the pub is a sticky toffee and so because I felt that making a whole pudding could be a bit daunting, let alone the amount of care to be taken so that it all cooks perfectly evenly, I decided to morph it into cupcakes. Enjoy!

180g dates, pitted and chopped

180ml boiled water

90g butter, softened

140g soft light brown sugar

2 jumbo eggs

180g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Oven: usual. Place dates in a bowl with the water and leave for 20 minutes. NO LONGER or else they'll go squidgy :-(

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy with a hand mixer. Add the eggs in one at a time and to help prevent curdling, add 1 tbsp of the 180g flour with the last two eggs. Make sure to scrape the sides for unmixed ingredients. A rubber spatula comes in handy here!

Sieve in the dry ingredients in 3 goes and mix until smooth and uniform in texture. Next add the vanilla and the dates and make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

As usual, bake for 18 - 20 minutes and frost with a buttercream that has had 100g tinned caramel or 'dulce de leche' stirred in. Top with little pieces of toffee of fudge.

Terry's Chocolate Orange Cupcakes (well kind of):

It doesn't need to be anywhere near Xmas to enjoy these beauties! Go on, be tempted!

70g butter, very soft

310g sugar: 200 caster, 110 soft light brown

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp finely grated orange zest

250g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

240ml whole milk

Oven: usual. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy and then add the eggs one by one fairly fast. Next add the vanilla and orange. Sieve in the dry ingredients in 3 goes, alternating with the milk until it all comes together and feels fairly dense but smooth, still. 

Bake for the usual time and top with a cream cheese frosting. Just add 60g cocoa powder along with the icing sugar. Also pour in 3 tsp zest and a dash of juice. Top with candied orange peel or orange jelly slices, but the peel definitely looks classier.