Ingredients :

• 125g plain flour
• 125g caster sugar
• 125g soft margarine
• One and Half teaspoons baking powder
• One and Half teaspoons vanilla essence
• Two eggs

For the topping;

• 125g icing sugar sifted
• Half teaspoon vanilla essence
• 4 teaspoons water
• A few drops of yellow, green and pink food colouring
• Jelly beans, to decorate.

I don’t go by or change my attitude based on what people say. At the end of the day, they, too, are judging me from their perspective. I would rather be myself and let people accept me for what I am than be somebody who I am not, just because I want people’s approval.

-Karan Patel

Preparation:

1. Put all the cupcake mixing ingredients in a mixing bowl or a food processor and beat until smooth, spoon the mixture into foil cake cases arranged in a greased 12-hole deep muffin tin. Bake in a preheated oven, 180^oC (350^oF), set timer 20 minutes until well risen and the cakes spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip. Leave to cool off in the tin.
2. Make the topping mix together the icing sugar, vanilla and enough of water to make a smooth icing. Divide the icing among three bowls and colour each batch differently, turn the cakes out of the tin ice them and decorate with jelly beans, leave for 30 minutes for the icing to set.
3. For girly cupcakes, make cupcakes as above but use just a few drops of pink food colouring to cover the icing and decorate the top of each cupcake with a single pastel-coloured sugared flower instead of the jelly beans.