Twirls and blossoms cupcake toppers

Create picture-perfect cupcake toppers with this tutorial! If you're seeking some inspiration on how to transform cupcakes into elegant floral treats

Brought to you by Ali Newman from The Little Sugar Box

Create picture-perfect cupcake toppers with this tutorial!

If you're seeking some inspiration on how to transform cupcakes into elegant floral treats - ideal for Valentine's season as well as spring and Easter! - we've got just the thing! Ali Newman from The Little Sugar Box shows you how to create your own twirls and blossom decorations in this useful tutorial. Though perfect for cupcakes, these decorations could be used on any number of bakes. Enjoy!

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You will need

For the cupcakes:

12 vanilla cupcakes
200 g butter
400 g icing sugar

To decorate:

vanilla extract
white florist paste
food colours (green, pink)
cornflour for dusting the board
white vegetable fat (like Trex)
pink edible dust

Equipment

piping bag
piping nozzle
green work board
rolling pin
blossom cutter
ball tool
veining tool
white softening pad
brushes (for dusting and gluing)
foam dryer
glue
cocktail sticks
leaf cutter/ veiner
sharp knife
clingfilm
ruler
Alphabet Tappits

Instructions

Start by making the buttercream. Cream the butter on full speed in your mixer until it is soft and fluffy. Carefully add the icing sugar and mix on a low speed until it is totally incorporated, then beat on full speed for a further 5 minutes. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to flavour it.

Carefully fill your piping bag with buttercream. Squeeze the buttercream as far down in the piping bag as it will go. This stops big air pockets from forming and spoiling your swirls when you are piping. 

Hold the piping bag with one hand and keep it upright. Start piping your swirl at the edge of the cupcake and continue all the way around until you are back to the beginning. Pipe another layer of buttercream on top to create a swirl (A). 

To make the little blossoms, mix some pink food colour into your white florist paste and create a soft pink shade. Roll out the paste as thinly as you can, then cut six blossoms using the blossom cutter. Using the black veining tool, gently roll it from side to side on each petal to create texture (B). Position them on the foam dryer so they hold their shape while drying.

Dust the centre of each blossom with pink edible dust. Make at least 36 blossoms and, once they are dry, roll out some tiny balls using the green paste. Dab a spot of glue in the centre of each blossom and stick a few little balls into each (C). 

Roll a very thin sausage of green paste. Try to keep it nice and smooth while you’re rolling. Trim each end so that the sausage is approx. 8cm (3¼in) long. Very carefully twist it around a cocktail stick (D) and put it to one side to dry. Make approx. 24 twirls:12 pink and 12 green. 

For the leaves, roll out some green paste as thinly as possible. Cut a leaf shape using the leaf cutter, then very carefully soften the edges with your ball tool. Place the leaf into the leaf veiner and push the top down firmly. Make sure the veiner is on a hard surface to get a really good imprint. (E-F) Pinch the end of the leaf to give it shape and allow it to dry on the foam pad. 

To make the little name tags, firstly roll some white paste between your fingers to create a sausage shape. Roll the sausage into a strip approx. 2mm (1/10in) thick using your rolling pin, then trim the sides carefully with a sharp knife. Cut little triangles out at either end (G).

To create the letters, use your Alphabet Tappits. Roll some pink paste out on your green board, then place the tappit over the paste and push down firmly. Remember to use the right letters each time. Make sure you dust lots of cornflour into the tappit before you place it over the paste, as this will stop the little letter from sticking inside. Tap the tappit firmly against the table top to help the little letter to escape. Stick the letters onto the name tag using some edible glue. To help the name tag set properly, place a little piece of clingfilm underneath it until it is dry. 

To assemble

Work on one cupcake at a time. Firstly, push two twirls into the buttercream. Make sure they are pushed in quite firmly. Place three blossoms just in front of the swirls. Tuck a leaf into the side of the blossoms. If you are putting a name tag on as well, place it just below the blossoms at the front.