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.
*
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 and here’s a video on making the icing swirl.
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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.
*
To make the cupcakes, I used the following recipes:
Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 8oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder* *Use the best quality cocoa powder you canThe cocoa powder greatly affects the cupcake taste.
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 1/4 cup sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten eggs, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Sift cocoa into a medium bowl. Slowly stir in the boiling water until smooth, then gradually whisk in milk. Set aside to cool.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with an hand mixer on low speed, beat butter until fluffy; 3-5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least twice. Beat in the vanilla.
- Add eggs in 3 batches, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and reserved cocoa mixture a little at a time in alternate batches, starting and ending with the flour; beat until just combined.
- Divide batter into the cupcake liners, 1/4 cup for each liner.
- Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or longer - until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Time will vary according to your oven.
- Take cupcake out and when cooled for about 5-10 minutes, remove from pans. Let cool completely and cut out a small hole in the top, center of each cupcake and fill with chilled dulce de leche. I only filled mine a little bit as I find it doesn't need a lot paired with the caramel icing.
- To finish, pipe caramel frosting onto cupcake with a large, round tip and place a gum paste leaf on top of the icing.
Notes
Chocolate Frosting
For an easy chocolate frosting recipe, click here.
*
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. 🙂
The articles you always help me to learn something new,
very nice recipe as always!
I wonder if one cup of flour is a very small amount?
Maria-Greece, It works as a recipe and tastes good!
Hi..
OMG ..that so nice..i never feel so excited to go to kitchen but for now i like to try and practise..hope can remove my stress after watching market whole day and night ( smile ).
how long i can keep my frosting icing decoration cookies in container ? We going to celebrate our religious celebration in 3 week time.. I like to make my own cookies and coklat cupcake ?
Thank you so much ..God Bless You
Freshest is always best of course, but up to two weeks in a container should be okay! Have fun!!
HI!thankyou for sharing this 😀
i do have one problem 🙁 wenever i try mking chocolate buttercream icing it NEVER turns out this dark in colour its always on the lighter side!how do u get that super dark chocolate colour ???ur input wud be of gr8 help!
thanku
It essentially resolved my trouble, appreciate it!
lovely cupcakes! but for how many is the recipe for? 24? thank you!
Hi Mrs Ali, It could be that the products in the recipe are making the difference. You could always add a little chocolate brown food coloring if you like as well. Hope that helps!
@Katty_mo Yes, that's right! Have fun making them!
I just made these cupcakes and they didn’t turn out very well. They did not rise at all… is this something I should have expected?
Hi @ Lisa: A few things to brainstorm (baking can be finicky… kind of like a science, it’s so precise). Whipping the butter and sugar in the beginning until it’s nice and fluffy helps, and then not overmixing once the flour is added, makes a difference. Other than that and oven temperature being calibrated, I can’t think of any thing else.
How many cupcakes does this recipe make Marian?
Kuddos to you for great photos and presentation but these cupcakes were a disappointment.
I just made them for our Halloween spooky dinner and my family and I hated them. They were tasteless and dried. I had to hurry and make a different recipe. 🙁
Oh I am so sorry, Claudia! 🙁
I know you may feel hesitant, but if you have a chance, try these ones another time (they are easier to make, no need to make them in the cones, either). https://sweetopia.net/2013/08/ice-cream-cone-cupcakes-recipe-how-to-and-toppings/ I do recommend the best ingredients you can find as well. Please do try other recipes of mine and let me know how it goes. xo
wow i love these. the flowers on the cupcakes look perfect and the stand finishes it off nicely. well done.