Spring Blossom Cupcakes
Espresso cupcakes
Makes 6-8 cupcakes
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300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
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2/3 cup caster sugar
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1 tsp espresso powder
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80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
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1 large egg
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175ml/6 fl oz buttermilk
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180°C/350F and line a cupcake tray with liners.
Step 2 - Sift the flour into a medium bowl, then add a pinch of salt, caster sugar and coffee. In a jug, combine the vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk. Add to the dry mixture and stir to just combine. Spoon into prepared cupcake cases until 2/3 or 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
Espresso buttercream
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125grams/4 ozs. butter softened
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3 cups icing sugar
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2 tablespoons milk
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1 teaspoon espresso powder
Step 3 - Beat butter in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir milk and coffee together until smooth. Add in sifted icing sugar and coffee milk in two batches until fluffy. Spread over each cupcake with an angled spatula just before assembling (you don't want the icing to set hard as you will use it to adhere the marshmallows). Reserve a little icing to adhere any hard to stick pieces.
To decorate
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180g/6ozs large marshmallows (not the super large American jetpuffed ones), the ones that are about 2cm or a little under an inch in diameter
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Liquid food colouring in pink, purple, yellow and green
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White sugar
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Cacao nibs or tiny choc chips
Step 4 - Make the sanding sugar by adding a drop or two of liquid food colouring to 2 tablespoons of white sugar in a ziplock bag. Seal shut and shake until colour is evenly distributed. Make a green sanding sugar as well as any other colours that you want to make the blossoms. Empty each colour onto a separate small plate.
Step 5 - Make the leaves first. Cut each marshmallow in half diagonally and dip the sticky part into the green sanding sugar. Place these on the outer edge of the cupcake on opposite sides sugar side up.
Step 6 - Make the flower petals by cutting the marshmallows into three (you want them smaller than the leaves) and slightly pinch the ends with your fingers. Then dip the sticky part into the coloured sugar and affix them to cupcake going from the outside to the centre. Once you have added all of the petals, fill the centre with cacao nibs.