A Simple Chocolate Cup Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

This is a very basic cup cake, well, during week days I don't normally have a lot of time for baking.
By the time I finish work, chase the children for dinner, home work, piano and whatever they need to do, put them to bed, it's usually 9:00 pm...

Wouldn't even be able to bake the simplest cakes without hubby's help...

Anyway, Monique's turning 4 in a couple of days and we are only having a small party at home.  The house might be able to cater for more guests once we finalise the renovation and have a proper out door area.

So, like what I do for Luke every year for his birthday, I baked some cup cakes for her to share with all her kinder friends.  It would be nicer if she could have a whole big bake, but sometimes, it's just not practical, and I'm not sure if the kinder has got all the plates etc, and cup cakes are just easier.  Pink ones for the girls, blue for the boys.

Margaret Fulton's basic butter cake recipe for the chocolate cakes, and her butter cream frosting recipe for the frosting.  It's a very old cook book, and it comes in handy all the time.

Her basic butter cake recipe uses 2 egg portion, increase the quantity if needed.

125g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup self raising flour - sifted
1 table spoon hot water

I added 30g cocoa powder and a bit extra water.

Cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy, beat in eggs, one by one, adding a bit of flour when adding the second egg.

fold in the remaining flour with a metal spoon and add in hot water.

Fill up 3/5 of the cup cake cases and bake in pre-heated 180C (350F) oven till ready.

Basic butter cream frosting:

125g butter
2 table spoon milk
1.5 cup icing sugar - sifted.

Beat the butter with half of sugar until smooth, add the remaining sugar, beat till creamy

For chocolate frosting, add
2 table spoon cocoa powder with 2 table spoon hot water, cool.
then add to mixture with only 1 table spoon of water.

I added some hundreds and thousands for some fun for the children...