These cakes use oil instead of butter, which means they don’t go stale after a couple of days. So they’re perfect for baking ahead. This recipe makes about a dozen cakes.

Preheat oven to 180c/350f.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs (medium or large are fine)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup oil (vegetable or canola/rapeseed)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk*
• cupcake tin and paper cases

Icing

• 16oz/450g icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
• 1/4lb / 110g butter (at room temperature)
• 3-4 tablespoons milk food colouring

What To Do:

• electric mixer (hand mixer) *If you haven’t got buttermilk, pour 1/2 cup regular milk into a cup and add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to it 5 minutes before you’ll add it to the mix. 
• Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a bowl In another bowl, use electric mixer to beat eggs for 15-20 seconds (they’ll become a bit frothy), then add the sugar and beat on medium for around 30 seconds. The mix will become light, but don’t over-beat or it’ll start to look like meringue and the cupcakes will rise too much. Add the oil and vanilla Add the flour mixture and buttermilk and mix till it’s just blended together. The batter will be thin. Fill the cupcake cases in the tin to 2/3 full and bake. Check them at 12-14 minutes (stick a cocktail stick in the middle of the cake – if it comes out dry, the cakes are ready). It could take up to 20 minutes for them to bake, depending on your oven.
• Turn the cakes out on to a cooling rack, and don’t ice them until they’re completely cool.

Icing

• if you want Cream the butter with an electric mixer (electric whisk) Add sugar slowly and keep the mixer on a low setting or the icing sugar cloud will overwhelm you 🙂 Add a bit of the milk till you get the right icing consistency.

Recipe by Michele Gorman, author of Match Me If You Can