Alice in Cupcakeland

These cupcakes are heaven in a patticake wrapper! The more retro a cupcake is, the more I love it, so naturally I adore these with their cute pink icing.

Ingredients

115 g butter
300 g white sugar
2 eggs
235 ml buttermilk
30 ml red food coloring
5 ml vanilla extract
7 g baking soda
15 ml distilled white vinegar
250 g all-purpose flour
30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
6 g salt

Preheat oven to 175C and line 2 x 12 hole cupcake pans.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.

Bake until the tops spring back when lightly pressed like a sponge - about 20 to 25 minutes.

Icing

250gm unsalted butter
1 cup Icing Sugar
150gm frozen raspberries

Allow the raspberries to defrost. Once they're soft, puree them, and strain through a sieve to remove all the lumps and bumps.

Whip the butter until it is light in colour and fluffy, then add the icing sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Finally, add the raspberry puree and beat until combined. You don't want this too soft, so you might like to add a little more icing sugar if you like.