I love old fashioned baking recipes. Uncomplicated. Down to earth. Practical. Using nothing more than basic pantry ingredients. This cupcake recipe is a staple in our house. A birthday party and afternoon tea treat resurrected from my childhood. Light. Delicate. Buttery. The perfect foil for these gorgeous butterfly cakes. Put together with fresh strawberries and cream and a dusting of icing sugar. So delicious they don’t last long at all.

Vanilla Butterfly Cakes With Strawberries and Cream.

Makes 10 Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes
125 grams unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup self raising flour
3-4 tablespoons milk

For the Butterfly Wings
1 cup cream
1 tablespoon caster sugar
a few drops vanilla essence
1/2 punnet strawberries
Icing sugar for dusting

To Bake the Cupcakes
PREHEAT oven to 180C. Line a muffin pan with 10 paper cases.
CREAM butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until very light and fluffy.
BEAT in eggs one at a time until well combined.
FOLD in flour and just enough milk to achieve a batter of dropping consistency.
SPOON the batter  evenly into the paper cases. Bake in preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

To Assemble the Butterfly Cakes
WHIP one cup of cream with a tablespoon of caster sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract.
SLICE strawberries lengthwise into two or three slices, depending on size.
USE a sharp knife to cut a shallow V-shaped piece out of the top of each cupcake. Cut the top pieces of cake in half crossways to form 2 semicircles. Fill the centres of each cupcake with a heaped teaspoon of cream. Arrange 2 semicircles of cake and 2 slices of strawberry  over the cream to form wings.
DUST with icing sugar.