Cupcakes are so hard to say no to, aren’t they? I mean, they’re there on a platter, looking all pretty and you think to yourself: ‘They’re kind of kitsch with their mile-high frosting and pretty sparkles. No self-respecting adult should love them!’ But we all do (well, most of us, anyway). The reason I love them is because I often crave cake but can’t bear to face an entire slice – I just want a few bites. I like serving cupcakes for dessert or as part of a celebration because they’re easy and if you play with the flavours, they are always impressive. If you have a piping bag and an icing nozzle, you can make them look completely professional and your guests will think you’re terribly swish. CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE Makes 12 cupcakes For the cupcakes 200 g flour 150 g sugar 125 g butter, at room temperature 125 ml Champagne/sparkling wine 2 eggs 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon vanilla extract For the white chocolate frosting 100 g butter, at room temperature 400 g icing sugar, sifted 100 g white chocolate 5 ml vanilla extract 1 teaspoon lemon juice To serve 12 white chocolate truffles edible glitter Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners. Combine all the cupcake ingredients in a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes until smooth and thick. Fill the cupcake liners ¾ full and place in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before decorating. To make the frosting, cream together the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Melt the white chocolate and allow to cool slightly before mixing into the icing. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice and mix well. If the mixture is a little too thick for your liking at this stage, add a little milk to thin it out. Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with an icing nozzle and pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with white chocolate truffles and a little edible glitter.