Chocolate Cupcakes and Spring Gum Paste Flowers
They’re easy, fun, decadent and d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!
Chocolate cupcakes topped with creamy chocolate buttercream icing and edible sugarpaste flowers. {Also known as gum paste flowers}.
If you’re looking for a tasty, easy dessert for a special occassion, try these cupcakes inspired by some of Peggy Porschen’s flowers.
Page 68 of Peggy Porschen’s, Romantic Cakes
I say ‘ours’ because a few students and I made them for a friend of mine and teacher of theirs for her 50th birthday.
{Do you like the pretty background? lol! I only had a minute to take pics before we delivered them}.
If you’d like to try making these, the flowers are simple to make if you’ve got the tools.
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To make these cupcakes you’ll need:
- chocolate cupcakes (recipe below)
- chocolate icing (recipe below)
- gum paste
- royal icing for the flower centers (click here for recipe)
- food coloring gel
for gum paste and royal icing
- small fondant rolling pin
- corn starch
- flower cutters (I bought mine at the Bonnie Gordon School)
- flower formers
(optional)
- piping bags
- large star tip
- round piping tip
for flower centers
- couplers
- silver cupcake liners
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*For a how-to on making simple flowers with gumpaste click here for the tutorial.
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The only somewhat different method was with this flower:
Still easy to make:
Once the gumpaste flowers have dried, use a #2 piping tip to add some dots of royal icing to finish off the centers.
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To make the cupcakes, I used the following recipes:
Chocolate Cupcakes
For a printer-friendly version click here.
Ingredients
- ¼ pound of unsalted (room temperature) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 5 large eggs
- 9 fluid ounces of your favourite chocolate syrup
- ½ Tbs milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 176 degrees C. Line your muffin tin with liners.
- Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined.
- Scoop the batter into your cupcake liners with a spoon or ice cream scoop.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the center of the cupcake has just set. (I insert a barbeque skewer to check).
- Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly in the pan and then top with icing.
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Chocolate Buttercream Icing
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.
Ingredients
- 24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups 35% cream
- 1 tablespoon clear corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ounces unsalted (room temperature) butter
Directions
- Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate and cream together. (Make your own version by placing a glass or stainless steel bowl on top of a pot with simmering water). Stir occasionally until the chips are melted.
- Off the heat, stir in the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it has thickened.
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For the pink milk glass cake stand click here
These cupcakes were easy and fun to make; I only wish I had gotten a pic of the birthday girl, Kim, with them!
Happy Birthday Kim!
I could not ask for a more dear friend than you
Marian. You have blessed my life and bring sunshine into my day! Thank you for the beautiful cupcakes and more important your friendship!
Love Always, your friend,
Kimmie (and I am “that old”)
Yum, they look super delicious. I do like the background, sorta blurry looking oven? Not even sure… but it sure doesn’t detract from the cake display.
Oh no, Marian, you gave away your friend’s age! But, you know what, you have to let her know that she certainly doesn’t look it. In fact, she looks great and I would never have guessed.
What a nice birthday surprise!
You also mentioned a cake stand in this post – it’s so sweet and pink. I love cake stands and kitchenware. Probably more than diamonds. I hope you don’t mind me posting a link to some great cake stands I found on the internet. They were too cute not to share. It’s a shame they don’t deliver to where I am but it’s nice to have a look.
http://www.rosannainc.com
Just beautiful!
Thanks Kimmie! I feel the same way about you!
I was *going* to tell the story about ‘that old’ but wasn’t sure I’d live it down. lol.
(Check out the comment from bubble&squeak b.t.way!)
Thanks for commenting bubble&squeak and Linda!
So simple, so beautiful.
Hi just wondering how much milk – 1/2 milk??? Thanks
Stunning! I just love the flowers …and the chocolate!
Oops! Bec, that’s half a tablespoon milk. (I’ve corrected the recipe in the post as well).
These Look AMAZING Marion!! I am so impressed… and I really want to eat one!
(or five)
Blessings!
Amanda
beautiful work again… I dont mind the background of your pic. It does not interfere at all. Nice show piece.
Happy Birthday Kim. You look great.
ML
Your cupcakes are so pretty!! I didn’t know they made the gumpaste flowers with those molds.. where can I find them? Thanks!
Elsa; I bought these at the Bonnie Gordon School, but if you want to buy on-line maybe just try googling ’silicon veiner’ or ‘flower silicon veiner’ and see which site you like best. (closest to you etc.)
The cupcakes, the icing, the flowers, the stand, and the birthday girl…everything is beautiful! Thanks for posting the recipes as well
they look fabulous!
Wow… Your cupcakes look stunning. I have never tried gumpaste flowers, but I think I’ll have to give them a try now.
I have nevered worked with gum paste before. Your blog has inspired me. I think I will give it a go very soon.
Your cupcakes look delicious. The sugar flowers are so pretty.You did so great.
Have a great weekend!
Your work is amazing! These cuppies are so pretty and elegant.
i seriously have SOO much to learn from you! these are absolute perfection! i LOVE the tutorial and hope it’s as easy to follow along! i’m just horrible at icing cupcakes, but maybe i need a pastry bag to make them look a little better!
Hi Marian,
Gorgeous cupcakes! I’m going to give them a try this week-end. Where can I get the veiner from? and also where are the beautiful tiered cake stands from, they make the presentation look so elegant!
Thanks,
Dalia
Hi Dalia,
I got the veiner from Bonnie Gordon’s (it’s the link beside the word flower formers in the “To make these cupcakes you’ll need” list above).
There’s a link to where I got the pink milk glass stands in the second last paragraph of the post.
Happy Shopping!
Congratulations. I have given you an award at http://bakerscanvas.blogspot.com/2010/06/versatile-bloggers-award.html
Hi! I just love checking in to see your lovely creations. I designed Ashley Vicos website and I’ve been fortunate to see some of her work in person, we had a Sweet Ashley cake at my daughters birthday. The work that you and the sugar and cake artist do these days is absolutely amazing.
P.S. Thanks for sharing the “how to” segments!
Heather
LOVE your gumpaste flowers. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making them but have yet to do it. This post made me want to give it a go sometime soon. Thanks! Your wonderful creations are always so inspiring!
Very lovely. Thanks for showing how to make them. I’ll have to try them out one of these days. I have always been intimidated and thought they’d be super difficult.
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