Home made first birthday cupcakes ready for delivery!

 A child’s first birthday is an exciting and momentous occasion. More so for the parents than the birthday bub, because no matter how fancy the festivities, an infant will unfortunately not remember any of it. 


That said, doting parents take great delight in anticipating, documenting and celebrating a child’s milestones – I certainly do – and there are so many significant ones especially in the first 12 months. By the age of one, most children are either crawling or walking, smiling and laughing, sitting up independently, engaging with family and friends through facial expressions and excited gestures, eating sold foods and delighting loved ones with their early words and sounds. By the time that single candle is blown out, on that first sugar-dusted birthday cake creation, so much has already been achieved culminating in a day with cheers of happy birthday hooray! 

I spent a very happy afternoon today with my children and husband and the extended family members, celebrating my nephew Stefan’s first birthday. Despite the initial sheets of rain, sunshine somehow managed to peak through and the skies cleared for a brief period of time, allowing everyone to enjoy the party atmosphere. Baby Stefan’s parents had done an impressive job of decorating the covered area of the yard with giant colourful paper pom poms and streamers and setting up a winter lunch buffet with home cooked comfort food which warmed all the guests from the inside.  Picture trays of cheesy lasagne, mixed salads of winter greens, hearty beef goulash and buttered rice, fresh pasta salads and roasted crispy skinned chicken.

There were also tantalisingly arranged tiers of home baked sweets and treats, including my sister-in-law Lily’s caramel slice (so, so, classically good that it’s hard to stop at a single slice), decadent chocolate brownies and for those with savoury inclined taste buds there were platters piled high with olives, pickled vegetables, small goods, pita bread and assorted dips. I had so much fun baking and decorating the batch of coconut cupcakes pictured above, some with cheery clown style faces, others with a simple aqua blue swirl of vanilla butter cream icing. As expected, the little ones licked all the icing off first before eating the moist base. 

I used Nigella Lawson’s recipe for icing which I think is the ultimate butter cream for cakes big and small. The only change I made was to reduce the amount of vanilla to 2 teaspoons. It is smooth, flavoursome and holds whatever shape it is piped into very well. The quantity below provides plenty of coverage for a 40 cupcakes, a shaped birthday cake like a number, train, animal figure for example or to sandwich together two 22 cm cakes and also completely cover the top and sides.
Vanilla Butter Cream Icing
300 g unsalted butter at room temperature
700 g icing sugar (I use icing sugar mixture because it doesn’t require fiddly sifting)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Beat the butter in either an electric mixer or using hand beaters until it is pale.
Add all the other ingredients and beat for about 3 minutes until completely smooth. Taste the icing to make sure there are no grainy sugary bits that can be felt on your tongue. 
Use the icing in its creamy coloured form or tint with your choice of food colouring.