• Prepare a tray with 18 to 24 cupcake papers, or aluminium foil containers (18). Depending on the size of your containers or wrappers you will end up with a varying number of cupcakes, 18 to 24. Set the oven temperature to 160C/ 340 F. These cakes can be made with a stand a hand mixer or by hand.
• Put the sugar, vanilla, salt, flour, and baking powder into the bowl of a planetary mixer bowl or a medium bowl and mix to combine
• Now, put the butter into the bowl and mix until all the butter is mixed through. (this is called reverse creaming. It adds butter to dry ingredients coating them before adding eggs and other ingredients. The butter must be soft)
• Put the eggs, oil and sour cream or yoghurt into a bowl and whisk together. Reserve the milk for later. Mix the ingredients until smooth and well combined. Then, scrape down the bowl, and with the mixer on low gradually add the milk. ( if hand mixing follow the same directions)
• Scoop the mixture into the cupcake containers about 2/3 full. Make sure there is a good space at the top. Bake at 160C for 18-20 minutes

Buttercream

• While the cupcakes are cooking and cooling, cut up the butter and leave to come to room temperature.
• Put the butter into a bowl or a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment (or hand whisk) until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt and 1 cup of icing sugar at a time. Completely mix in the icing sugar before adding more. Taste and stop when it tastes good for you.

Making the chick faces

• You will need to separate the icing into 4 pieces. The black will be the smallest at around 10 gm. Orange will be about 50 gm. Yellow will need around 300 gm. and about 140 gm
• Colour 300 gm of white icing and set aside wrapped in cling wrap. Colour a very small piece of black icing and set aside wrapped. Next colour the orange piece and set aside. That leaves the white. Wrap and set aside.
• Once the cupcakes are cool, take a knife and cut a little hole in the top of each Get rid of the cake pieces. Fill the hole with vanilla buttercream using a plastic bag or a piping bag and tube.
• Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the cupcakes. Avoid the buttercream going down the sides of the cupcake or onto the papers or containers. Once you have a nice thin layer, don't worry about tidying it up yet. Put the cupcakes into the fridge and chill for 10 minutes. Once they come out it is easy to smooth them over and neaten them up. Set aside
• Roll out the yellow icing and cut circles the size exactly as the top of your cupcake. Put the tops onto the cakes and set them aside. Make little dots in black two for each cake. Pinch off a tiny piece and roll the balls between your fingers. each needs to be the same size so they look even. Next, roll out the orange icing and cut little triangles for the beaks. All that's left now is to roll out the white and create jagged cuts that look like cracked shells. You can also make little feathers by cutting out 3 strips for each side of the cupcake face.

  Icing can be stuck on with a very very small amount of water. Be cautious with water as it can melt the icing if you use too much.