Vanilla Sponge Cupcake & Creamy Vanilla Frosting

Easy peasy fluffy spongy cupcakes and creamy frosting. This frosting is also a great base for adding different flavours. I used this with dulce de leche, nutella and peanut butter.

I started practicing frosting cupcakes for Christmas...evidently I have a long way to go. So I ended up just making different kinds of unknown flowers :D

VANILLA SPONGE CAKE

||  Prep Time: 10 mins.  ||  Cook Time: 15 mins. ||  Total Time: 25 mins.  ||  Yield: Serves 24  ||

* I suggest you jump in to the first two steps of making the vanilla frosting before starting with the cake. *

Ingredients:

1 cup cake flour

1 cup caster sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup butter

6 eggs, separated

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celcius and line cupcake pans.

• Sift cake flour and baking powder together. Set aside.

• Whisk egg white until its frothy, gradually add sugar while whisking in the highest speed.

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• Add egg yolks one at a time while whisking, then the softened butter and vanilla.

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• Gradually add cake flour and baking powder mixture. Continue mixing until texture is well combined and smooth. 

• Pour mixture into cupcake pans and bake for 12-15 minutes.

CREAMY VANILLA FROSTING

||  Prep Time: 20 mins.  ||  Cook Time: 10 mins. ||  Total Time:  2 hours  ||  Yield: Serves 24  ||

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups milk (low fat is fine)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 1/3 cups butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Directions:

• Combine milk, flour, salt in a saucepan with the heat turned off. Whisk until smooth. Cook over medium high heat, whisking until mixture thickens and comes to a boil (about 5-7 minutes).

•  Yes! I use measuring cup on a stove top :)

• Boil for 1 minute, remove from heat then strain into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap to avoid skin from forming. Cool for about an hour and half.

• When flour mixture is cool, beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until light and creamy. Adding a dollop at a time, beat in the cooled flour mixture until the frosting is creamy and light. 

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• I divided my frosting into 4, and added colours on 3 of them. Also added a drop of mango essence on the yellow frosting. Would have been great if I have pandan and strawberry essence.

• I also added 2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin in my frosting to help stablize the cream. (In 50ml hot water add 1 gram of unflavoured gelatin or totally depends on the packet instruction.