I made a 100 of these cakes for a wedding last summer and they looked stunning and tasted amazing. It took me a few hours and they are really easy and can be made in advance and frozen. Wedding cakes can cost hundreds of pounds while these cakes will only cost you a fraction of that. You can choose which cupcake cases, what colour icing, and what decoration you want, this is just a guide. If you are dairy free or pushed for time I recommend the delicious Betty Crocker vanilla frosting (it’s vegan too) available in supermarkets. Everyone loves a vanilla cupcake.

This recipe makes approx. 12 cupcakes and you can increase the amount in multiples of 12.

Ingredients:
142g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda (bicarbonate)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 large egg yolk
1 large egg or if you are vegan substitute the eggs with egg replacer for 1 and half eggs( available in health stores and online)
150g golden caster sugar
1/2 cup of mild olive oil or canola oil
2 teaspoons of good quality vanilla extract
75 g sour cream or a plant based version like Oatly crème fraîche
Cupcake pan for baking and cupcake cases

Icing
75g butter (at room temperature)
175g cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
450g (approx.) of icing sugar
Decoration of choice, I used gold dragees which are available in supermarkets
Cupcake cases of choice, can be gold or white(I used dark brown)
Wilton 6B French piping nozzle and piping bags

if vegan or dairy free, I use Dr Oetka vanilla frosting as I can’t make a better version and I’ve tried lots of recipes and they never taste as good.

How:
Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
In a largish mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, egg, and egg yolk with an electric mixer on medium speed.
When lighter in color, on a low speed, mix in the oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract until blended.
Next, add the flour mixture until blended thoroughly, but don’t overmix.
Place the cupcake cases in a cupcake pan and fill just over halfway with the mixture.
Bake between 17-25 minutes until golden. If a skewer comes out clean, they are done. Allow to cool.

Icing
Put the vanilla, icing sugar, butter and cream cheese into a food processor and blend for a few minutes until smooth.
If too soft, add more icing sugar. It should be the consistency of whipped cream and be firm enough to pipe.
Pipe onto the cupcakes. For icing tutorial and ideas using the suggested French nozzle, click on the following YouTube link.

Storage
These can be made the day before and put into stackable cardboard boxes that contain multiples of 24. I use these ones from Amazon.
Or, alternatively, you can freeze the cakes in airtight containers for up to 1 month before your wedding and can be transported frozen to the venue in the boxes.