Basic Vanilla Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting...for a Colorful HOLI

I wish you all a Colorful and Happy HOLI!!!!
I am posting today these colorful cupcakes as a visual treat, to celebrate this colorful festival with fun.
Cupcakes are a favorite among kids as well as adults. While I like to eat my cupcakes plain,this time I covered them with colored butter cream icing and decorated them with various sprinkles as we had to pack this for a friend.One can pipe the frosting into beautiful swirl patterns over the cupcakes but as I am not a person who likes to eat too much frosting I made it a bit thin and gave the cupcakes a thick coat of frosting and decorated them with various sprinkles.The whole activity of baking cup cakes and decorating them is a real fun filled one which I thoroughly enjoy. It is infact more of a stress buster for me.You can even keep your kids occupied with this kind of activity whenever you make them and more so in Birthday parties. Aren't they looking pretty?
Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream frosting Recipe:
(makes around 12-14 cup cakes)
Recipe Source: Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

Vanilla Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups(195 grams) All purpose flour
1/2 cup(113 grams) unsalted Butter,at room temperature
2/3 cup(130 grams) granulated white Sugar
3 large Eggs
1/4 cup(60 ml) milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon (outer yellow skin)(optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Buttercream Frosting:
2 cups(230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk or light cream
Assorted food colors( I used red,blue,green)

Method:

Making Vanilla Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350 deg F (177deg C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Sieve flour with baking powder and salt for a couple of times until it is mixed uniformly.
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using electric hand mixer.
• Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.Add lemon zest to the mixture and mix.
• Add 1/3rd of the flour mixture and 1/3 rd of milk and beat the mixture in low speed.Do this step alternatively for two more times beginning and ending with the flour.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
• Scoop out the batter and fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter.
• Bake them in the preheated oven at 180 deg C(350deg F) for about 17 - 20 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.It is always better to check a few minutes before the stated baking time.Do not over bake otherwise the cupcakes will be dry.
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.Once the cupcakes have completely cooled,we can frost with icing.

Buttercream Frosting:

• Cream the butter with an electric hand mixer until smooth and well blended.
• Add the vanilla extract and gradually beat in the sugar using the mixer on low speed.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
• Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed to get the desired consistency.
• Divide the mixture into 2-3 portions and tint the frosting with desired food colors.I used few drops of red,blue and green food colors for the batter.

Decorating the cup cakes:

• If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife before frosting.
  
• If you want to pipe the frosting you can use a star decorating tip.This will give a nice swirls over the cupcakes.But I am not a person who likes to eat so much frosting and hence opted a simple and easy way.
  
• I made my frosting bit thin and was easy to spread the frosting on each cup cake with a spatula or spoon and decorate with various color sprinkles,m&m's,white & brown chocolate chips and chocolate sprinkles.
• Do not touch the frosting up to an hour,they would set properly and gives a shiny look on the cupcakes.They stay good for 2-3 days.
  

A special hug to my niece for allowing me to use her colorful spoons and forks and also her beautiful tiny hands as props in the photographs.I must say though she tried to hide her things from me while I was photographing but now she feels happy to see her things in the photographs.