Buttercream cupcake bouquet

Brighten someone's day with this beautiful floral cupcake bouquet for beginners by The Sugarcraft Contessa.

Brought to you by The Sugarcraft Contessa

Learn how to pipe stunning buttercream flowers that make the perfect edible cake topper on your cupcakes this spring!

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You will need

For the cake

12 large cupcakes, covered in white/ uncoloured buttercream

To decorate

750g (1lb 7oz) stiff consistency buttercream (I used 250g (9oz) unsalted butter, 500g (1lb 1oz) icing sugar, 1tsp flavouring)
Assorted paste food colours. I used Sugarflair: Fuchsia, Gooseberry, Melon, Grape Violet and Royal Blue

Equipment

Piping nozzles, 2D/closed star, 125/ large curved petal tip, 352/leaf tip, 2/small writing tip.
Piping bags
Spatulas
Scissors
Drinking glass

For the bouquet

7 paper cups
Stapler and staples
3 large sheets of tissue paper, each cut into 2
Basket measuring roughly 25-30cm (10-12in) diameter
7 light green and 7 dark green tissue paper squares, roughly 15cm (6in) sq

Instructions

For the hydrangeas

Take a 2D/large closed star piping nozzle and a piping bag and place inside a glass.

Spread 2 lines of 2 different colours of buttercream on opposite sides of the bag using a spatula.

Fill with white buttercream to the top of the glass and trim off the end of the piping bag.

Hold the tip directly above the cake at 90 degrees, so the end of the tip touches the cake.

Squeeze, then release the pressure completely. Lift directly upwards and away to reveal a drop flower!

Simply keep adding several of these to your cake, building them up on top of each other to create a hydrangea flower

For the blossom bunches

Next, place your 2D/large closed star piping nozzle into a piping bag, fold the bag over a glass and coat the sides of the bag completely in a layer of coloured buttercream.

Repeat step 4 (see hydrangeas).

Hold the tip directly above the cake at 90 degrees.

This time, twist the cake SLOWLY round as you squeeze to turn your drop flower into a blossom-like flower.

Release the pressure completely, then lift up and away.

Repeat to create small bunches of blossoms.

Add leaves with a 352/medium leaf nozzle and some green buttercream by simply squeezing to allow the leaf to build, releasing the pressure, then pulling away slowly until your icing forms a point.

For a splash of colour, add a small, round centre with a number 2/small writing nozzle and a little yellow buttercream.

For the daffodils

Pipe 6, equally spaced, small guide marks onto your cake to help position your petals evenly.

Position a 125/large curved petal tip flat to the cake, curved-edge down and pipe a long petal from the centreup to the edge of your mark. (If you are lefthanded you may prefer a 125/straight petal tip for this flower).

As you reach the top of your mark, turn your wrist outwards sharply to curve round and create the tip of the petal. Continue the stroke back down to the centre.

Continue with this ‘up, turn, down’ motion for the remaining 5 petals, using your marks to guide you.

To pipe the trumpet, tilt the tip towards you by 90 degrees so the wider part of the tip is now ‘sitting’ on your cake and the narrow end is directly in line above it.

Steadily twist the cake clockwise as you squeeze out a ribbon of icing (if you are left-handed you can turn anticlockwise if using the curved tip).

Finish the trumpet by touching the ends of icing together to join them once you have completed the circle, then finally release the pressure.

Add stamens inside your trumpet with a number 2/fine writing nozzle by squeezing and pulling slowly upwards to create small spikes.

Finish with some leaves. Turn the leaf tip so one of the triangular openings faces upwards this creates long, thin leaves which are perfect for daffodils.

For the final assembly of the buttercream cupcake bouquet

To create the cupcake holder, simply staple 7 paper cups together to form a circle around a central cup, stapling each cup to those touching it.

Line a basket with tissue paper and add your cupcake holder.

Finally, place each cupcake on two squares of green tissue paper placed diagonally on top of each other and enjoy arranging your ‘flowers’ into your bouquet!