Piped Flower Cupcakes Recipes

FLORAL CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan-assistant. Line 1-2 muffin tins with 15 muffin cases.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave (check on it every 10 seconds if using the microwave) and let it cool a little.
• Transfer the melted butter to a bowl and add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.
• Sift the flour, sugar, ground almond and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the zest. Stir to combine them and make a well in the centre.
• Pour in the wet ingredients into the centre of the dry ingredients. Mix well until lump-free.
• Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases. Each case should not be more than 2/3 full.
• Bake in the oven for 25-30 mins or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Start by beating the butter in your mixer (I used my Smeg) until it's fluffy (about 5 minutes, starting with lower power). Then add half the icing sugar and combine well, and then add the rest of the sugar and combine well again. If the mixture becomes too thick, you can add 1-2 tBsp of milk to loosen it.
• Divide the buttercream into bowls and add the colours of your choice to each bowl. I like to start by adding just a couple drops and building up from there so my colours don't get too crazy. Mix the colours well into the buttercream.
• Place each colour of buttercream into a piping bag, twisted at the top, with a nozzle of your choice. You are ready to pipe now!
• Onto each cupcake, you can pipe simple rosette shapes or more complicated flower designs depending on your nozzles.

PANSY FLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream.
• To pipe the flower: Place the grape-tinted frosting in a pastry bag with a #104 rose tip. Point the bag down at a 45 degree angle, with the skinny end of the rose tip aimed towards the center of the flower. Squeeze and release while making 5 tear shapes in a circle to form a flower. Repeat piping on top with 4 more tear shapes in a tight circle.
• Place the egg yolk-tinted frosting in a pastry bag with a #2 small round tip. Hold the bag straight up, and pipe a small dot into the center of the flower.
• To pipe the leaf: Place the avocado-tinted frosting in a pastry bag with a #70 leaf tip. Point the bag down at a 45 degree angle with the tip lightly touching the surface of the cupcake. Squeeze hard to build up the base and simultaneously lift the tip slightly. Relax the pressure as you pull the tip toward you, drawing the leaf to a point. Stop squeezing and lift the tip away. Pipe a second leaf on the other side of the flower.
• Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

EDIBLE-FLOWERS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour and salt.
• Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla. Add eggs in 4 batches, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture in 4 batches, and beat until completely incorporated.
• Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Tap tins on countertop once to distribute batter evenly. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; transfer cupcakes to racks, and let cool. Cupcakes will keep, covered, at room temperature, up to 2 days.
• Frost cupcakes with a generous layer of buttercream, and top each with a few edible flowers. Serve immediately.

PIPED-ROSE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Starting with 1 drop at a time, add gel-paste food coloring to buttercream. Stir well to combine. Add more food coloring, stirring constantly, until desired color is reached. Dab buttercream on top of pastry nail, and press a 2-inch square of parchment on top. Reserve half the buttercream for frosting tops of cupcakes. Fit pastry bag with coupler, and fill with remaining buttercream. Place tip of coupler in center of parchment square, squeeze pastry bag gently, and pull up slowly to make an acorn-shaped mound (this is the bud).
• Fit pastry bag with petal tip. (You can anchor the nail in Styrofoam or a potato with a flat-cut bottom.) Hold tip against the point of the bud, wide end down and narrow end angled in toward center. While turning the nail slowly, pipe a wide, tight strip, enrobing the top of the bud. Turning the nail as you go, pipe 2 arched petals that each reach around half of the bud. Continue turning the nail and piping, making longer, overlapping petals and angling further outward as you go, until you reach the bottom of the rose. Gently slide parchment with rose onto a baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm, at least 20 minutes (or up to 2 days). Repeat to make more roses.
• Frost tops of cupcakes with buttercream. Using a small offset spatula, gently place a rose on top of each cupcake, discarding parchment.

EASY FLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 8 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
• Combine 6 1/2 tablespoons butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
• Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and add to the batter. Beat for another 5 minutes. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 14 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool, about 20 minutes. Cupcakes sink slightly after baking, which is fine as it creates a flat surface for the flowers.
• Combine 1/4 cup butter and cream cheese in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Add confectioner's sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract after half the confectioners' sugar is incorporated. Set aside.
• Pour colored sugar into different small bowls. Cut each large marshmallow into 5 slices. Dip marshmallow pieces with the cut side down into one of the colors so the sugar will stick to the marshmallow. Repeat with the other marshmallows and different colors.
• Spread a layer of frosting over each cupcake. Arrange 5 marshmallow slices on each cupcake in the shape of flower petals. Place a candy-colored chocolate piece in the middle.

PIPED FLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Using a pastry bag fitted with a small petal tip (#104), pipe plain or tinted buttercream petals: Keeping the wide edge of the tip in the center of the cupcake, pipe a petal by making a half-moon motion with the outer, thinner edge of the tip. Repeat until you have five or six slightly overlapping petals that cover the top of the cupcake. Place a round colored candy, such as a pastel lentil, M&M, or Skittle, in the center of the flower. Repeat to decorate remaining cupcakes. Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow frosting to set.