Very glamorous cupcakes

How to make very glamorous cupcakes Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and fill a muffin tray with cupcake cases.

Sift together the plain and self-raising flour. Whisk the butter in a bowl for a couple of minutes, until it becomes fluffy. Add the caster sugar and mix together with the butter. Add one egg, half of the milk and the vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Add the second egg and the rest of the milk and whisk again so the mixture becomes nice and smooth.

Gently fold in the flour. Be careful not to over-mix as you add the flour or your cakes won't rise - and you'll make bread!

When you have a well-combined, smooth batter, you are ready to fill your cases. Using a piping bag, half-fill each case, leaving space for the cakes to rise. Piping in the mixture stops you getting messy fingers, but if you don't mind that, you can spoon the batter into each case.

Put your muffin tray into the hot oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Stick a skewer into the tallest part of the cake - if it comes out clean, the cupcakes are ready. Turn them out onto a rack and leave to cool down. Don't worry about being too gentle with the cakes - they are pretty robust.

You need to make sure the cakes are completely cold before you start to ice them, or the topping will just drip off. To make a scrumptious fondant, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, beating until smooth. If you want coloured cupcakes, add a few drops of food colouring.

Use a palate knife or a piping bag to generously cover the top of your cupcake. Dip into sugar sprinkles or decorate with edible glitter, dragees or whatever exciting things you find in the baking aisle!

Eric Lanlard Watch Eric's step-by-step guide to making cupcakes Glamorous toppings to pimp your cupcakes More Eric Lanlard recipes All about Eric's Glamour Puds