How to make: Easy Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe- simple and foolproof tutorial

Hi, I'm making yummy chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

This is a quick and easy recipe for a lovely sponge cake.This cake recipe is great because anyone can make it, it's really fast and as it doesn't use butter, the cake will stay moist for longer. Butter tastes great but oil keeps your sponge really moist & another plus for this recipe is that there is no creaming involved.

You will need:

• 1 cups/240ml buttermilk
• to this mix also (optional)
• 1 teaspoons baking powder or 2 tsp if using all-purpose flour
• 2 cups/16oz sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda (if not using self raising)
• 1 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• You could add a handful of chocolate chips of chopped nuts
• 2 cups/10oz Self raising or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup/120ml vegetable oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cups/5oz unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
• 1 cups/240ml hot water

For icing:

• 100g/1/2 cup butter to 250g/1 cup icing sugar and 125g
• chocolate (large handful)

Tips: use chocolate/cocoa you would be happy to eat or drink. Use a vegetable oil which is light and does not have a strong flavour - Do not use melted butter as a substitute. This cake using room temperature buttermilk and the acid in it makes the cake more tender (acid affects the gluten in the cake). You can buy buttermilk pre-made (shake before use) or you can make it buy adding one teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk and leaving to stand until you can see curds. This takes me around 15 mins but perhaps this will vary with the temperature of your milk/environment. All the ingredients with the exception of the hot water should be room temp. Allow the hot water to boil then leave to cool for 10 minutes or so before adding to your cake batter. Do not add buttercream to warm muffins - Allow them to cool fully before frosting or the buttercream will melt.