Easy cupcake recipe for kids

Name: Easy cupcake recipe for kids
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 150 g (1 + ¾ cup) self raising flour; 150 g (¾ cup) caster sugar; ½ tsp baking powder; A pinch of salt; 150 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened; 3 eggs (large); ½ tsp vanilla extract; 300 g (2 cups) icing /confectioners sugar; 150 g (⅔ cup) butter; 25 ml milk; a few drops of vanilla extract

This easy cupcake recipe for kids is perfect for any child wanting to learn to bake. They are really quick and simple and with some tasty vanilla frosting on top are delicious too!

I don’t think this site would be complete without having a really easy cupcake recipe for kids. Cupcakes are a classic bake, the sort of thing kids always want to make. This recipe, with step by step instructions, all gets mixed together in one bowl so it couldn’t be simpler. They really are perfect for kids to make, and are a great bake for cake sales or children’s birthday parties.

What I love most about a simple cupcake, except that they’re really easy, is that they come in handy individual portions and you can jazz them up with fun decorations if you want to. Once you’ve mastered this easy cupcake recipe you can add food colouring and make rainbow or colourful cupcakes or add things like sprinkles or chocolate chips.

We’ve used a simple white vanilla frosting, but you can jazz that up with different colours if your kids would rather make something less plain. You can also swap the icing for a cream cheese frosting if you find buttercream icing too sweet. If you’d rather make a cream cheese frosting, check our recipe for Easter chick cupcakes.

How can kids help make this easy cupcake recipe?

Cupcakes are a great bake for kids because they’re so simple and this recipe is even easier as you just have to mix everything togeher in one bowl. Your kids can enjoy getting to measure the ingredients as well as mix them all together.

There’s also a few chances for your kids to practice their egg cracking skills, which is an important job any young baker needs to master.

Once the cupcakes are made, there’s also a chance for them to practice their piping skills as they decorate them. Or if that’s too tricky just spread the icing on with a knife and get little kids to add some fun sprinkles.

What can I use instead of self raising flour?

If you don’t have self raising flour, swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and put in an extra teaspoon of baking powder.

How long do these cupcakes keep?

These simple cupcakes will keep in an airtight container for a few days. If you want to make them in advance or keep them a little bit longer, you can freeze them before you’ve added the icing. Simply wrap them well or pop them in a freezer bag and they’ll keep in the freezer for a few months. Defrost them fully before adding the frosting.

Other fun cupcakes for kids

If you and your kids love making cupcakes, check out some of our other easy cupcake recipes below:

Chocolate chip cupcakes
Nutella cupcakes
Chocolate butterfly cakes
Chocolate cupcakes
Funfetti cupcakes
Butterfly cupcakes
Orange cupcakes
Strawberry cupcakes
Rainbow cupcakes
Monster cupcakes
Raspberry cupcakes
Eton mess cupcakes
Ice cream cone cupcakes
M&M cupcakes
Victoria sponge traybake
Blackberry cupcakes

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these vanilla cupcakes

Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Piping bag
Muffin tin
Cupcake cases
Wire rack

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Makes: 8
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20 minutes plus 12 minutes baking

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

150g (1 ¾ cups) self raising flour*
150g (¾ cup) caster sugar
150g (¾ cup) butter, or margarine
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

For the buttercream
150g (2/3 cup) butter, softened
300g (2 cups) icing / confectioners sugar
25ml milk
A few drops of vanilla extract

* If you don’t have any self raising flour, swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and add an extra teaspoon of baking powder.

How to make this easy cupcake recipe for kids

Preheat your oven to 170C / 160C Fan / 330 F and line a muffin tin with paper cupcake cases

Mix everything together

Get your kids to measure the flour and caster sugar and add them to a large mixing bowl or freestanding mixer.

Add the butter or baking margarine if you’re using it. If you’re using butter, make sure it is soft so that it mixes in nicely. If yours is still too hard from the fridge, cut into a few pieces then pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds or so to soften it (not long enough to melt it).

Get your kids to add the vanilla and baking powder. When they’re adding the baking powder, make sure they use their finger to level the top of the teaspoon so that they add just the right amount.

When you’re adding the vanilla extract. If your kids are still young, you might need to hold the teaspoon while they pour in the vanilla or vice versa. Older children might be able to do it themselves, just make sure they hold the teaspoon level.

Finaly, crack the eggs into a small bowl. We never tend to add them straight in just in case any shell goes in. If it does, fish it out with a larger piece of shell as it will stick better to that than it will your finger.

Using the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer or a hand held mixer, or even wooden spoons mix everything together until the batter is nice and smooth. Don’t over mix it.

Bake the vanilla cupcakes

Divide the cupcake batter among your cupcake cases. They should be about ¾ full. We used some soup spoons to do this job, and it worked really well. They hold just the right amount so we hardly spilled a drop. A dessert spoon or an ice-cream scoop can also dish out a good amount.

Bake the vanilla cupcakes

Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 12-15 minutes. They’re ready when they have risen, and turned a nice golden brown colour. You can check using a metal skewer or cocktail stick – poke it in the middle and if it comes out clean, they’re definitely done. Ideally they should have a nice flat top. If your top is very domed, you might need to turn the oven temperature down next time. You might need to turn your tray in the oven half way through if one half is cooking faster than the other.

Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool in their tray for a few minutes. After that, take them out the tin and leave them to cool fully on a wire rack.

Make the vanilla frosting.

Mix the icing sugar, and butter in a large bowl or free-standing mixer. Do this slowly at first so the icing doesn’t go everywhere and put the lid on or cover it with a clean tea towel!

Slowly add the milk and a few drops of vanilla extract. Turn the speed of your mixer up and leave it mixing for 5 minutes or so. The longer you mix it the softer and fluffier it becomes.

Decorate the cupcakes

Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star shaped nozzle with the buttercream icing and use a food bag clip to seal the top end. This should make it easier for kids to pipe without worrying about the icing coming out the top.. Get your kids to pipe swirls of buttercream on top of each cupcake. We find the easiest way of doing this is to hold the piping bag at the top with their right hand to squeeze the icing out and use their other hand to guide the bag.

You might need to help them squeeze or guide the bag. Start at the outside and go round in circles until you get to the middle. If you’ve still got icing left once you’ve added the buttercream to each cupcake, you can do an additional swirl on top of some of the cupcakes.

If you don’t have a piping bag or your kids find it difficult to use one, you can spread the icing on with a pallet knife or even a butter knife. If you and your children want, you can also add sprinkles or any other decoration you like.

Serve and enjoy!