Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°c
2. Put the butter and sugar into a mixer and whizz it up until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the vanilla essence and the eggs and whizz again to make a yellow batter.
4. Add the flour and mix until it is smooth for about 5 minutes. Stop once in the middle of the mixing to scrape the sides of the bowl using a spatula. The longer the mixing time the more air is incorporated and the lighter the mixture.
5. Spoon mix into your cupcake cases and bake for approx 14 mins. Do keep an eye on them. They are perfect when they bounce back to the touch and the top looks slightly sticky.
6. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 30 mins.
7. For the buttercream: Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth
8. Add in the remaining icing sugar and on tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the rest of the milk if necessary to loosen the mixture.
9. Stir in your green food colouring until it is well combined.
10. Transfer the butter cream icing to a piping bag and pipe it on to the cooled cupcakes.
11. You can add sprinkles or any other decoration or topping of your choice