Olympic cupcakes recipe

Get in the Olympic spirit by making Victoria Threader's Olympic cupcakes. With soft vanilla sponge and a simple Smartie decoration, these cupcakes will be a big winner with your family this summer

Ingredients

• 150g caster sugar
• 150g butter
• 130 self-raising flour
• 20g cornflour
• 3 medium eggs
• 30ml milk
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• Large box of Smarties

For the icing:

• 500g icing sugar
• 250g unsalted butter
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 3tbsps milk

For the toppers:

• 350g white fondant
• Edible gold paint
• 1tsp icing sugar with a few drops of water

You will also need

:

• 68mm scalloped side cutter
• Fine paint brush
• Alphabet embossers (optional)

Method

1. 1. To make this cupcake recipe, preheat your oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Place 12 cases in your muffin tin.
   2. Beat the sugar and butter with the vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
   3. Add 1 egg, 1/3 of the flour and a splash of milk and beat until just combined and repeat until all the ingredients are mixed.
   4. Fill the cases to 3/4 full and add a few Smarties to the tops. You can push them down into the batter with your finger if you want a flat top cupcake, then bake in the oven for 30 mins. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 mins before moving the to a wire rack.

   For the buttercream:
   

   1. Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat until smooth and shiny. Once the cakes are cool, spread onto the tops of the cupcakes.

   For the toppers:
   

   1. Roll out 350g of white fondant and cut 12x 68mm scalloped circles, paint the words Good Luck with a fine brush with the edible gold paint (using the alphabet embossers if you have them) and leave to dry on a piece of greaseproof or on a large drying sponge.
      
   2. Mix 1tsp of icing sugar with a few drops of water to make a thick paste. Arrange the Smarties onto the toppers and stick in place with a touch of the icing paste. Place the finished toppers on the iced cupcakes.