Easy Vanilla Cupcakes

Instructions

For the Vanilla Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F (fan-forced/convection) or 180°C / 355°F (standard). Line a 12-hole standard muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Sift flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in caster sugar and salt until well combined.
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk and vinegar. Stand for 5-10 minutes or until thick and curdled. Whisk in canola oil, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk together until well combined. Whisk in hot coffee/water. The batter will thin out.
5. Distribute the batter evenly among the paper cases. Do not fill more than half-full. Overfilling the cases will cause the batter to spill over when baking. Depending on how you measured your ingredients, you may have enough batter for an extra 1-2 cupcakes.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1. In the large bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of milk at a time, beating well in between, until the frosting is smooth and of piping consistency.
2. For swirls: ensure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting. Fit a piping tip with a star-tip nozzle. Fill the piping bag ¾ full with frosting and twist the top to secure. Pipe a small mound of icing in the centre of a cupcake. In one fluid motion, pipe a ring around the mound then continue to pipe in a circular motion towards the centre of the cupcake to create a hi-top swirl.