End of term butterfly cupcakes

Week 28, Bake 28.

I cannot believe that I have worked at my new job for a whole school term now! Admitenly our school terms are about 2 weeks shorter than everyone elses but I can't believe it is actually summer now, mainly because the weather is doing nothing to convince me it is summer. Anyway so as it is the end of term instead of giving sweeties like the other speech therapists I decided to bake cakes. For two reasons, (1) as it would count towards my 52 bakes and (2) despite the fact that I love baking, I don't really like sweets! Shocking isn't it.

When I asked my kids at school if they would like butterfly cakes, the girls looked really excited but the boys shrugged in a 'not bothered' sort of way. Typical boys. Anyway I have to say that my two highlights of this term were seeing the olympic torch and our school street party. Not a highlight was probably when one of my children thought I was 30 (in actual fact im 23!) or when the same child asked why I'm a 'Miss'. Horrible children!

Method:

• 180g of plain flour
• 20g of corn flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• 175g of caster sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vinilla extract
• 120ml of vegetable or sunflower oil
• 120ml of buttermilk (or 120ml of milk with 1/2 a teaspoon of lemon juice left for 5 minutes)
• 150g of butter (very soft)
• Icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vinilla essence
• a splash of milk

Ingredients:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c.
2. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In a seprate bowl break two eggs and whisk them together (if you have an electric mixer use that...I actually don't have one).
4. Now beat the sugar into the eggs and whisk for another 30 seconds.
5. Add in the vinilla extract and the oil then beat it in.
6. Now sift a third of the flour into the mixture and whisk it in. The whisk in a third of the buttermilk and then continue the pattern of mixing the flour and milk in.
7. Arrange the cupcake cases in your pan and fill them to three quaters full.
8. Pop in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes.
9. Once they are ready, leave them in the pan for a minute then transfer them to a cooling rack.
10. Meanwhile beat the softened butter and slowely add the icing sugar into the butter. To be honnest I cannot really remember how much icing sugar I use, I just do it by taste and sight.
11. Once the buttercream is quite stiff, add in the vanilla extract and enough milk to make it easy to pipe.
12. Cut the tops off your cupcakes, making a circle as you go round and then cut the circle into two.
13. Now pipe the buttercream icing into the exposed cake section and places the spare bits of cake on like wings.
14. A quick dust with icing sugar and your done!

A simple retro classic.