Winter Garden Cupcakes

Blue velvet cupcakes topped with icy white buttercream and pastel shimmery flowers. Who says you can’t have a little summer in the middle of January? 

It was my birthday last week, and I treated myself to the COOLEST kitchen gadget ever- or so I thought. Have you seen the piping tips for frosting that make whole flowers? I saw this video and I was in AWE of these! I’ve never taken cake decorating classes, or ever really attempted frosting flowers, so these little tips seemed perfect for me! I got a set of 12 on Amazon and I couldn’t wait to try them! My goal? A variety of white buttercream flowers dusted in edible pastel powders- like ice-covered flowers- on each cupcake.

The tips didn’t work. I tried a variety of frosting types and consistencies. I tried using the pastry bags included, I tried using a zip-top bag. Argh! Failure!

If the frosting was whipped (my typical buttercream- light and fluffy) it did not keep it’s shape when piped. If the frosting was a nice firm buttercream it simply didn’t pipe out of the tip at all- and squeezing harder either forced a hole in the bag or forced the tip and connecter to separate from the bag.

So, I had the cupcakes and decided to just go with what I had. Topped these with my very favorite buttercream and used a little fondant for the flowers 🙂 I think they are perfect!

 Here’s how we made them (printable recipe here):

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24 cupcakes)

• One blue velvet boxed cake mix- plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package. I used Duncan Hines to get this fun wintery blue color- and it was delicious!!!
• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter (softened)
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons clear vanilla
• A little white food coloring (if desired) to whiten the frosting even further
• White fondant- I used a bit of Wilton’s boxed fondant, but you can make a little too- recipe here.

DIRECTIONS:

• Make cake mix according to box and bake in 24 cupcake liners. Cool.
• Place butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until light and whipped (this takes 3-5 minutes, and it will whiten up considerably as you beat it. If you want it whiter, add a bit of white food coloring.
• Place into a large zip-top bag fitted with a piping tip and pipe swirls on top of each cooled cupcake.
• To make flower decorations, roll fondant out and cut into leaf and flower shapes using small cookie cutters or fondant cutters.
• Dust leaves with edible green dust and flowers with edible pastel dust. I use a brand called “Sterling Pearl” and it comes in a wide range of colors, and is available on Amazon or many cake supply stores.

• Place decorations on cupcakes and ENJOY!!

My thoughts: I think that when your “dream” idea dies, that there isn’t really any second option that can replace it. That said- I got SO many compliments on these cupcakes. Everyone loved them. The blue velvet cake mix is really great- if you haven’t tried this one yet, it really is worth it- really great flavor!  Anyone want a set of 12 piping tips? 🙂 I hope you enjoy these wintery treats!  ~r

We have loads of unique cupcakes here on Easybaked- like these! (click on a photo to see the recipe)