Cream Soda Cupcakes

This is one of my go-to cake recipes as they're so easy to make but never fail to impress. I've always been a fan of the unusual but lovely fragrant vanilla taste of cream soda and I think it's the perfect addition to a cupcake, especially the icing. In fact, I think they should manufacture a perfume with the scent of these cupcakes - it's divine! The little straws were a nifty last minute brainwave for a simple but eye-catching finishing touch and I'm rather proud of them though I say so myself :)

Just an aside, but cream soda makes a delicious addition to the raspberry ripple ice cream flavour squash I mentioned in my post here: http://cloudninepointone.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/raspberry-ripple-ice-cream-cupcakes.html - perfect with ice and a straw on a hot summer's day :)

INGREDIENTS - makes approx. 12 

For the cakes:

• 4 oz self-raising flour
• 4 oz caster sugar
• 4 oz margarine/butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cream soda
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 5 oz butter (unsalted if preferred)
• 10 oz icing sugar
• 2 tsp cream soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
  + 4 stripey plastic straws in colours of your choice (optional)

METHOD

For the cakes:

1. Line a baking tray with 12 paper cake cases.
2. Whisk the margarine/butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until pale then whisk in the eggs.
3. Fold in the flour, baking powder, vanilla extract and cream soda until a batter of a soft dropping consistency has formed. If it's too runny, add a little more flour.
4. Drop the mixture into the paper cases using a teaspoon until they're each about two thirds full.
5. Pop in the oven and bake at 180 degrees C for about 12-15 minutes until a cocktail stick inserted into the sponge comes out clean.
6. When baked, place on a wire rack and leave to cool. At this stage the cakes can be frozen for icing at a later date if you wish. 

For the icing:

1. Place the butter, vanilla extract and cream soda into a bowl and stir/whisk while gradually adding the icing sugar until a thick, fluffy mixture has formed. If it's too runny, add some more icing sugar. The longer you whisk it for, the whiter the icing will become.
2. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice attached (I used a large circular one) and pipe onto the cakes or simply spread it on using a palette knife.
3. Use scissors to cut the four plastic straws into pieces of about 3-4ins in length and push one piece into the side of each cake for a neat finishing touch. You could also add some rainbow sprinkles if you fancy.