Hello everyone!
Ciarán and I thought it was about time that we caught everyone up to speed with their baking skills. We want as many people to participate in Cupcake Camp, whether you are a novice or professional! So lets start off with a basic vanilla cupcake recipe. I have always used this recipe and I never have found a fault in it. These cupcakes are brilliantly light and scrumptious- just what I look for in a bun. Taken from Nigella.com.

125g self-raising flour
125g caster sugar
125g soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
Half a teaspoon real vanilla extract
Approximately 2 tablespoons milk
1 x 12-bun muffin tin
12 muffin papers
Serving Size : Makes 12

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and line the tin with the muffin cases.
2. It couldn’t be simpler to make cup cakes: just put all the ingredients except for the milk in the processor and then blitz till smooth.
3. Pulse while adding milk, to make for a soft, dropping consistency, down the funnel. Or using a bowl and wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs one at a time with a little of the flour.
4. Then add the vanilla extract and fold in the rest of the flour, adding the milk to get the dropping consistency as before.
5. I know it looks as if you’ll never make this scant mixture fit 12 bun cases, but you will. I promise you this mixture is exactly right to make the 12 cup cakes, so just spoon and scrape the stuff in, trying to fill each case equally, judging by eye only of course.
6. Put in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cup cakes are cooked and golden on top. As soon as bearable, take the cup cakes in their cases out of the tin and let cool, right way up, on a wire rack.

Then, the world is your oyster (or some terrible baking reference that I could make)! Whether you prefer your cupcakes iced, loaded with butter cream, or just plain, decorate as you wish. I am quite partial to some of this chocolate fudge frosting, also by Nigella though…