Polar bear cupcakes

In honour of this week’s freakishly cold weather, I’m about to make 30 polar bear cupcakes for Sprog 1 to take to school for her birthday tomorrow. Cute, no? I’m also wrapping her presents: Cluedo, a Dalek alarm clock, a cossie and the new Ruby Redfort book. I hope she likes them …

RECIPE: Polar bear cupcakes

• 125g butter, room temp
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 & 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• White icing
• White marshmallows
• Black Jelly Belly jelly beans
• Black writing icing
• Brown mini M&Ms

METHOD: Preheat oven to 160C (180C fan-forced). Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla essence with electric beaters. Add eggs, beat well. Add milk and self-raising flour. Mix with wooden spoon to combine then beat with electric beaters until ingredients are incorporated (don’t overbeat, or cupcakes will be dry and firm). Spoon into patty cases in a 12-cupcake tray. Bake for around 12-15 minutes, until golden. Cool on wire racks. Ice cupcakes with white icing. Use horizontally halved marshmallows as noses, with black jelly beans as snouts. Draw a mouth with black writing icing. Use brown mini M&Ms for eyes. Cut marshmallows in halves vertically and place cut-side down as ears. (Recipe makes 12 so I’ll be whipping up 2 & 1/2 batches.)