There are things called “cupcakes” and they are very elaborate and I don’t make them. I make cakelings. Glad we’ve cleared that one up!
Basic cakeling recipe: Makes 12.
Pre-heat oven to 180C.
Melt 2 ounces of butter or marge. Put cake cakes into patty tins. Sift 4 ounces of sugar into mixing bowl.
Pour melted butter onto sugar, whisk together. Add 1egg, whisk some more.
Fold in 2 ounces of SR (patisserie) flour, or plain (tout usage, all purpose) flour with appropriate baking powder and salt.
Divide evenly between cake cases.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool on rack.
Things to add
Chocolate chips — 2 ounces, add with the flour.
Raisins or other dried fruit — 2 ounces, add with the flour.
Chocolate — add an ounce of cocoa with the flour, and slightly descrease the flour.
Apple, peeled, cored and chopped — add just after the egg and coat with batter as fast as you can to avoid browning.
Lemon — juice and zest, add with the egg. Ditto orange. Increase flour by about half an ounce.
Iced and decorated — you can ice and decorate any of these variants.
Scaling up and down
The essential thing with cakelings is that it’s 2 ounces of everything per egg. You can make as much or as little as you like in units of 2 ounces per egg.
Making this recipe into a Victoria Sponge or layer cake
I do this all the time. Use 2 or 3 eggs and a lined 6 inch sponge pan, and bake for slightly longer.
