Ingredients

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon soft butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Directions

Royal Icing, recipe follows

Special equipment: 12 bun muffin pan, lined with muffin papers.

Take everything you need out of the fridge in time to get to room temperature - and this
makes a huge difference to the lightness of the cupcakes later - and preheat the oven to
400 degrees F.

Put all of the ingredients for the cupcakes except for the milk into a food processor and
blitz until smooth. Pulse while adding the milk down the funnel, to make a smooth dropping
consistency.

Divide the mixture between a 12-bun muffin tin lined with muffin papers, and bake in the
oven for 15 to 20 minutes. They should have risen and be golden on top. Let them cool a
little in their tins on a rack, and then take them carefully out of the tin to cool in
their papers, still on the wire rack.

Ice with Royal Icing.

Ingredients

Royal Icing:
*2 large egg whites (or substitute powdered egg whites)
3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

Combine the egg whites and
confectioners' sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on
medium speed until opaque and shiny, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice, this will
thin out the icing. Beat for another couple of minutes until you reach the right spreading
consistency for the cupcakes.

Yield: sufficient to generously ice 12 cupcakes