Orange & almond cupcakes

Delicate little cupcakes with almond buttercream icing- if you’re feeling ambitious, follow our guide to creating an edible bouquet

Prep:1 hrs 30 mins
Cook:25 mins

More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 428
fat 25g
saturates 14g
carbs 48g
sugars 41g
fibre 0g
protein 3g
salt 0.6g

Ingredients

300g butter, softened
300g golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
250g plain flour
100g ground almonds
2½ tsp baking powder
zest 1 orange, plus 2 tbsp juice
1 tsp almond extract
200g butter, softened
450g icing sugar, plus a little extra
200g cream cheese
1 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp orange juice
food colouring paste of your choice (we used a mixture of pink and yellow to create coral)
250g pack green sugar paste (or fondant icing mixed with green food colouring)
24 muffin cases (we used green ones)
large piping bag
large curved star point piping nozzle
15cm/6in styrofoam ball
15cm/6in flowerpot (measured across the top)
green tissue paper
sticky tape
24 short wooden skewers (or long ones cut in half)
ribbon, to decorate (optional)

Tip

Building your cupcake bouquet, stage one

Make sure your styrofoam ball fits snugly into your flowerpot. Loosely wrap the ball with green tissue paper and use a little sticky tape to secure.

Building your cupcake bouquet, stage two

Push the ball into the flowerpot, making sure that most of the ball is still visible over the top of the pot.

Building your cupcake bouquet, stage three

Pierce a hole in the bottom of each cupcake with a wooden skewer, then set aside. Push your first skewer into the top of the sytrofoam ball, leaving about 4cm of the pointy end sticking out.

Building your cupcake bouquet, stage four

Place a cupcake on top. Continue inserting skewers and topping with cupcakes, keeping them as close together as possible, until the whole ball is covered. Tie a ribbon around the pot, if you like. Serve within 1-2 hrs.

Where to buy all the kit for your cupcake bouquet

We used a 15cm styrofoam ball from hobbycraft.co.uk, a 15cm-wide terracotta flowerpot from Homebase, green cupcake cases from Amazon and nozzle and piping bags from Lakeland.

Method

Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½. Line 2 x 12-hole muffin tins with muffin cases. Put the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and blend with an electric hand whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between each addition. Add the flour, almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix again, then add the orange zest and juice, and almond extract. Give a final mix to combine everything.
Use 2 dessertspoons to divide the mixture between the cases. Bake for 22-25 mins, changing the tins over after 15 mins. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Can now be frozen for up to 3 months.
To make the icing, tip the butter into a large bowl and blend with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the icing sugar, cream cheese, almond extract and orange juice. Mash everything together first with a spatula (to avoid a mess), then go in with the electric whisk and mix until smooth. Add your food colouring and mix again until you have an even colour. (If you’re using liquid food colouring, it will make the icing runny, so add a little more icing sugar.)
Fit the piping bag with a large curved star point piping nozzle, then fill the bag with half of the icing and twist the end closed. To pipe, hold the piping bag directly above the centre of the cake and, applying a steady pressure, pipe in a swirl, working out towards the edge of the cupcake. When you reach the edge, swipe the nozzle to create a smooth finish – you can always cover this bit with leaves, so don’t worry too much if it looks messy. When you have piped 12 cupcakes, empty any remaining icing from the bag back into the bowl with the reserved icing. Add a little more colouring to create a deeper shade (and a little extra sifted icing sugar if the icing gets too runny). Whisk again, then refill your piping bag and ice the remaining cakes. Can be stored somewhere cool for up to 1 day (the fridge is fine, just make sure that you remove 30 mins before eating).
Before serving, add a few leaves, if you like: pinch off small pieces of green sugar paste or fondant icing and shape into leaves. Use a sharp knife to add detail, then stick onto the cupcakes. See tips, below left, for how to build your bouquet.