Classic Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Flower Frosting

So far we have tried to avoid the classic American buttercream frosting mostly because it contains a lot of icing sugar and…um, butter. That’s fine, but desserts won’t be desserts if you can’t make a tasty and beautiful decoration that looks stunning and keeps its shape. The best thing about it is that each cupcake has the right size so we can’t go wrong by eating too much. Spring this year is a bit chilly and rainy so we decided to bring back the sunny and colourful mood by making these adorable vanilla cupcakes that look like little flower pots. We used Russian decorating tips for the first time but the result was more than amazing –  the flowers have a very nice and distinguished shape and the cupcakes look like they’re created by a professional confectioner. 

Ingredients for 12 Classic Vanilla Cupcakes:

• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 145 ml milk
• 125 g sugar
• 75 ml sunflower oil
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 pack vanilla sugar
• 1 egg
• Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the Buttercream Flower Frosting:

• 200 g butter, softened
• 275 g icing sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 food colours (red and green)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºС. Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium bowl. Add in the sugar, salt and vanilla.
2. In a big bowl, whisk the egg. Mix in the sunflower oil and milk. Gradually add the flour, and continue beating until a smooth, thick mixture. 
3. Line a muffin baking tin with cupcake liners. Pour the batter and fill them until 2/3 of their capacity.
4. Bake for 16-18 minutes until light golden. To test if done, insert a wooden skewer to see if it comes out clean.
5. Take the vanilla cupcakes out of the tin and place on a cooling rack until completely cool.

How to make Buttercream Flower Frosting:

1. To make the buttercream, mix together the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice. Mix for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Divide the buttercream frosting in 2:1 ratio.
3. Add 2-3 drops of red food colour to the bigger part of the icing (it’s for the flower petals) and stir well. You can a few more drops if you prefer a darker colour.
4. Add 2 drops to the rest of the buttercream – this one is for the green leaves.
5. Prepare 2 piping bags. Place a Russian piping tip for flowers into the first bag and fill it with the pink buttercream.
6. The other bag doesn’t need a nozzle. Use scissors to cut a triangle pointy tip and fill with the green buttercream. Put both bags into the fridge for a few minutes.The frosting needs to be cold and soft.
7. Start decorating your vanilla cupcakes. To pipe the flowers, place the tip on a 90 degree angle on the surface of the cupcake. Squeeze the bag until you build a nice base. Then pull the tip straight up while releasing the pressure at the same time. Start in the center and then pipe 6 or 7 flowers around. Pipe some green leaves between the flowers.
8. Store the Buttercream Flower Cupcakes in the fridge.

Bon appetit and have fun while making your Buttercream Flower Cupcakes!