Polka Dot Cupcakes

Cupcakes from Nigella Feasts

Cupcakes: 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon soft butter

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Royal Icing, recipe follows
Special equipment: 12 bun muffin pan, lined with muffin papers.
Take everything you need out of the fridge in time to get to room temperature - and this makes a huge difference to the lightness of the cupcakes later - and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Put all of the ingredients for the cupcakes except for the milk into a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Pulse while adding the milk down the funnel, to make a smooth dropping consistency.

Divide the mixture between a 12-bun muffin tin lined with muffin papers, and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

They should have risen and be golden on top. Let them cool a little in their tins on a rack, and then take them carefully out of the tin to cool in their papers, still on the wire rack. Ice with Royal Icing.

Royal Icing:

*2 large egg whites (or substitute powdered egg whites)

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine the egg whites and confectioners' sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until opaque and shiny, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in the lemon juice, this will thin out the icing.

Beat for another couple of minutes until you reach the right spreading consistency for the cupcakes.
Yield: sufficient to generously ice 12 cupcakes