Cupcakes are not my thing! I marvel at all the mommies at school who can whip up a batch in no time. It's not that I detest baking them, I think my standards are just too high. For me a cupcake must be moist yet light, soft but not falling apart.
Just the other day I had a cupcake that was so dense and heavy, it was not at all pleasant to eat. The problem is that I do have two young children at school so it is inevitable that I will be asked to send cupcakes to school, hence my quest for the perfect cupcake began.
Another problem that I have with most cupcake recipes is that as soon as they cool down, the cake shrinks and pulls away from the paper cup, leaving a rather dismal looking cupcake. My other problem with cupcakes is the icing....I don't know about your children, but my children dislike the overly sweet butter cream icing. They normally bring the cupcake back to me, half-eaten, saying "Mommy, it's too sweet for me!" As if I can afford to eat it? A friend came to my rescue with her cupcake recipe that she swears by. This recipe solved all my cupcake issues, it was light, soft, and fluffy and it does not pull away from the sides of the paper cups. The recipe yields about 32 cucakes so it is perfect for parties, fetes and school fairs.
To find the perfect icing is and ongoing guest and along the way, I will share them with you. My children thought this White Mousse topping was a winner so I think it will stay in the repertoire. You can also try my Limoncello Cupcakes with Meringue topping that I made recently..also a winner with the kiddies!

Vanilla Cupcakes with White Mousse and Candied Strawberries

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour
pinch of salt
3 eggs
375ml castor sugar
1 cup boiling water
½ cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 180C and place the cupcake holders into the muffin baking tray. Combine the water, oil. Beat the eggs and sugar until pale in color and creamy. Add the flour, salt and fold in, adding the wet ingredients while you are mixing. Spoon into the paper cups and bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool.

White "Mousse" Topping

1 packet of instant vanilla pudding
500ml fresh cream
1 cup milk


Open vanilla pudding into a small mixing bowl and mix with the 1 cup of cold milk. Allow o set for about 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, whip the cream until it forms soft  peaks. Add the  instant pudding, that has now set and beat until thoroughly mixed. Spoon into a piping bag and start decorating the cupcakes.

For the candied strawberries

1 small punnet strawberries - halved
125ml sugar
50 ml water
1 tbsp golden syrup

Place all the ingredients in a small pot and bring to the boil allowing the sugar to melt. Boil until it reaches crackling stage(test in a little bowl with cold water). IN the meantime, place the halved strawberries on a clean glass top, cut side down. When the syrup is ready, take a teaspoon and pour some of the syrup over each strawberry. Allow to set completely. Place a candied strawberry on each cupcake just before serving!