Basic cupcakes recipe

It’s easy to turn these basic cupcakes into zingy lemon cupcakes or even rich coffee cupcakes; just follow the method above and add drops of your chosen extract to add flavour to each cupcake.

A few drops of vanilla extract give a wonderful sweet flavour or as food writer Jessica Ransom recommends, adding the zest of an orange, lemon, or lime to the cake batter for a cheap and tasty flavour boost. 

To make sure your cupcakes bake evenly, use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake cases with the mixture. This will make sure you have an even amount of mixture in each case and that they should rise to the same height.

Alternatively, you can weigh the final batter and divide the total by 24 to work out exactly how much batter you need for each case. Food Writer Jessica Ransom says: 'Another simple technique is using a tablespoon measure and putting a couple tablespoons of mixture into each case until it's all distributed.' 

On average a batch of cupcakes should take no longer than 20 minutes to bake. We'd recommend baking the cupcakes for 15 minutes and then checking. 

Food Editor, Jessica Dady says: 'I love making cupcakes and have been making them for years. My rule is to bake for 15 minutes until they look golden or are springy to touch on the top. If your cupcakes are slightly sunken in the middle don't open the oven as they are not done yet. Leave for another 3-5 minutes and check. Poke with a skewer and if its clean when it comes out of the cake it means the cupcakes are cooked. If not, bake for a few minutes more and check.'

She adds; 'If your cakes are taking ages to cook, but are starting to brown on top, you may not have let your oven pre-heat fully so cover the cakes in tin foil to stop them from browning further and leave them to bake for another 5 mins checking each time. For more top tips on baking cupcakes and cakes in general, see our what's wrong with my cake guide for a full Q&A.'

Cupcakes do not have to be refrigerated once baked and cooled. They can be kept at room temperature on the kitchen counter in an airtight container or tin. If your kitchen is warm, you may want to put your cupcakes in the fridge but keep in mind that this may dry them out.

If your kitchen is hot, or you're making cupcakes in the summer months, it may be best to keep them in the fridge - especially if you're topping with buttercream - be it chocolate buttercream icing or lemon buttercream - as the heat will melt and spoil the buttercream.

Food Editor, Jessica Dady says: 'Our kitchen is warm as I'm always cooking so I line the tin or Tupperware with some kitchen paper to absorb any moisture or cupcake 'sweat' that may occur when storing in the kitchen.'

She adds; 'But if I've added buttercream to my cupcakes, I pop them in the fridge to 'set' and then take them out when ready to serve.'

You can also freeze the baked cupcakes once they are cooled and not decorated. Wrap in clingfilm and freeze then defrost when you need. 

One of the most important steps when making cupcakes, and any sponge cake that uses the creaming method, is ensuring you cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Food writer Jessica Ransom explains: ‘Many people do not realise that the creaming process can take anywhere from 5 - 10 minutes. It’s important to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during the whisking to ensure everything is being mixed in.’

Creaming effectively is important because it makes the final cupcakes light and fluffy as lots of air has been incorporated and it evenly mixes the sugar. 

It’s also important to get the cupcakes into the cupcake cases and into the oven as quickly as possible once the batter is all combined. As soon as the wet and dry ingredients are combined, the chemical raising agent in the flour is activated. If you take too long to get the mixture in the oven, the reaction will have already finished and the cupcakes will likely not rise as much and will have a denser texture.