Bumblebee cupcakes

For the cupcakes

• 200g (7oz) self-raising flour
• 200g (7oz) unsalted butter/Stork/baking spread
• 200g (7oz) caster sugar
• 50g (13/4oz) plain flour
• 4 medium free-range eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the honey buttercream

• 250g (9oz) unsalted butter
• 500g (1lb 1oz) icing sugar
• 2 tbsp honey

For the bumblebees

• white modelling paste
• yellow food colouring (I used Sugarflair in Melon)
• black modelling paste

Equipment

• edible glue
• paintbrush
• cutting wheel
• black food colouring pen
• Sharp knife or mini scissors
• small plunger cutter
• palette or craft knife
• foam mat
• piping bag
• 1J, 1M and 2D nozzles

To make flat topped cupcakes

To make the buttercream

To make the bumblebees

1

Colour some modelling paste with a concentrated yellow food colouring (I used Sugarflair in Melon). Break off small pieces and roll into a little bean shape. Remember, these are going on cupcakes so you don’t want them too big. Leave to firm up on foam.

2

Once they're firm, use a black food colouring pen to draw on the little eyes. You can also use small balls of black modelling or flower paste, but drawing them on tends to be less fiddly.

3

Next, roll out a piece of black modelling paste and, using a cutting wheel, cut thin strips. Carefully flip the strips over and paint a little edible glue on the back with a fine paintbrush. Lift up a strip and stick two of them down onto the bean shape, giving the bumblebees their recognisable stripes. Cut off any excess with a sharp knife or mini scissors.

4

For the wings, roll out a piece of white modelling paste and cut out a heart using a small plunger cutter. Indent down the middle with a palette or craft knife to make the wings. Paint a little glue onto the point of the heart and stick these to the middle of the bee. Carefully fold up the rounded end to give the wings a bit of height. Leave the bees to dry completely on the foam.

5

To make the hive doorway, roll out a piece of black modelling paste and use either a little door/window cutter or cut out a little archway freehand. Leave these to dry on the foam.

To make the white chocolate honeycomb shards

1

For this, you will need some bubble wrap. I used new bubble wrap, which I washed, left to dry and then sprayed with food safe cleaner and wiped completely dry with a piece of kitchen roll.

2

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or foil and lay your clean bubblewrap in the tray, bubbles face-up.

3

Melt 200g (7oz) white chocolate either in the microwave, or in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water

4

Pour the melted chocolate over the bubble wrap and spread on evenly using a palette knife or the back of a spoon.

5

Place the baking tray in the fridge to firm up completely. Depending on how thick your chocolate is, this should take an hour or so. Once it is completely set, flip the slab upside down and carefully peel off the bubble wrap, then set aside. If you’re making the honeycomb in advance, I would advise leaving it in the fridge until you are going to use it.

To decorate your cupcakes

1

You'll need three piping nozzles – a 1J, which is a rounded nozzle, a 1M which is an open star and a 2D which is a small closed star.

2

For the honeycomb cupcake, use a 1M to create a classic swirl effect. Firstly, pipe a star into the middle of the cupcake. This ensures the swirl you will be piping on next has something to support it and doesn’t just collapse. Then, starting from the outside and going around pipe buttercream all the way around the cupcake, going in and up a layer, in and up a layer until you get to the middle. Once in the middle, stop squeezing and then pull away to create a lovely point on top.

3

Decorate this swirl with a broken shard of chocolate ‘honeycomb’ and a couple of bees on either side. Breaking off the chocolate means it doesn’t have to be perfect and, in fact, the more texture around the edge, the better!

For the hive cupcake

For the bee on the flower cupcake

1

For the bee on the flower cupcake, use the 2D nozzle to create a rose. For this design, start in the middle of the cupcake and pipe clockwise outwards until you get to the edge. Again, stop squeezing and then pull away. Add on a couple of bees and some tasty honeycomb pieces.