Easy Flower Cupcakes
Learn how to make flower cupcakes with Swiss meringue buttercream piped into roses, zinnias, and hydrangeas on vanilla cupcakes.
Ingredients
Buttercream Preparation
- 1 cup sugar 200 g
- 3 cups unsalted butter 680 g, cut into pieces, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar 120 g
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- as needed pink gel food coloring
- as needed yellow gel food coloring
- as needed lavender gel food coloring
Decoration
- as needed mint leaves for decorating
- as needed sugar pearls for zinnia centers
- as needed white non pareils for hydrangea decorations
- 12 vanilla cupcakes your favorite recipe or store-bought
Instructions
Buttercream Preparation
Dissolve sugar in egg whites:
In a mixer bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water, whisk together egg whites and sugar until the sugar fully dissolves.Beat meringue to stiff peaks:
Fix the bowl to a stand mixer and beat on high speed until the mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks and has cooled down.Add butter piece by piece:
Add the room-temperature butter piece by piece to the meringue while mixing.Mix in flavorings until smooth:
Mix in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract until the buttercream becomes smooth.Divide and color buttercream:
Split the buttercream into three separate bowls and color each with pink, yellow, and lavender gel food coloring.Fill piping bags with colors:
Attach couplers and chosen piping tips to bags, then fill each bag with one of the colored buttercreams.
Decoration
Pipe rose base and swirl:
Pipe a rose base with the #2D tip, then continue swirling upward.Pipe zinnia petals inward:
Using the #104 tip, pipe zinnia petals beginning from the outer edge inward.Pipe ruffled hydrangea shapes:
With the #4B tip, pipe small ruffled hydrangea shapes directly onto each cupcake.