Petal Cupcakes

Hello! A pretty post for you today with a little help from my friends at Polly’s Petals. We haven’t done much baking during LD – the alignment of flour, eggs and butter hasn’t always happened. That said when we did bake, it became a real treat and an opportunity to make an ordinary day into a special one. I found this Hummingbird Bakery cupcake recipe in a forgotten cookbook, having never baked proper cupcakes before I was so pleased with how they turned out. I had to improvise on the icing/frosting but I couldn’t resist giving them a sprinkle with this beautiful petal mix, so much nicer than the garish sprinkles my children are addicted to! These petals have become a baking essential, now the weather is warming up I’m going to add them to ice cubes to make even a basic glass of water beautiful – enjoy! x

You’ll need

A 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

120g plain flour 140g caster sugar 1 ½ tsp baking powder a pinch of salt 40g unsalted butter, at room temperature 120ml whole milk 1 egg ¼tsp vanilla extract

For a simple vanilla frosting (I’ve not used this one but its recommended) 250g icing sugar, sifted 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature 25ml whole milk a couple of drops of vanilla extract

Dried Flower Petals

To make, preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated. Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the vanilla frosting on top and decorate with hundreds and thousands. Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. This recipe is taken from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf and The Hummingbird Bakers Published by Ryland Peters & Small Text © Tarek Malouf and The Hummingbird Bakers

Thanks so much to Polly’s Petals for gifting me these petals. Photography and Styling all my own work, Recipe credited within post.