I have been baking for about 2 months now, and boy how much I have picked up in a short 2 months! My boyfriend often nags at me about "reading labels carefully" and I am certain that I have not grasped its full meaning till now.

Reading a recipe, at least twice before even whipping anything out of the cupboard is mandatory. I have noticed the importance of visualising the actions of folding, sifting flour, of mentally notating the amount of vanilla extract to be added, before or after the milk. All of these details make a difference or another, however subtle.

Patience is vital to a well baked cake, meringue, anything at all really. Patience for the butter to reach room temperature, patience while whisking egg whites till stiff peaks. All sorts of patience that one can muster - will be useful.

Patience however, with myself, I realise is particularly important. As a total noob, from baking almost everyday in the past 2 months, I can barely count my successes with one hand. But when they swing by, they are worth the failures, the burnt brownies, the collapsed meringues - and I mean in the hundreds.

So here they are - finally. Baby cupcakes that are not bitter (used way too much baking soda the last time), that are fluffy, spongey and of hearty, vanilla aroma. And I am very pleased.

Note: The little black dots you see in the buttercream are from my vanilla extract, which uses real vanilla pods. Therefore the dots.

Here's the recipe - I made 12 of these mini ones and 4 large cupcakes on the side.

Vanilla Cupcakes

100g caster sugar
120g plain flour - I mean because how am I to buy so much self-raising flour?!
1/2 teaspoon baking POWDER - when I had started out, I couldn't tell powder from soda, and soda gives it a bitter taste when too much is added
40g unsalted butter at room temperature
120ml milk at room temperature
1 egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 160°C, I use a Siemens steam/ oven unit.

2. Sift dry ingredients into mixing bowl to get rid of lumps, mix.

3. Mix all wet ingredients in a measuring cup.

4. Add to dry ingredients and mix on high speed, till smooth.

5. Distribute to cupcak trays lined with cupcake cases.

6. Bake large muffins for 22 minutes, small guys for 15.