Mother’s Day Rose Cupcake Garden

Happy Mother’s Day! What did you get your mom?

I got her flowers.

Lots of flowers.

I was innocently browsing the bakeware/cookware section when I stumbled upon these adorable silicon pot cupcakes. I realized Mother’s Day was coming up, and since my mom loves flowers + I had leftover marshmallow fluff fondant, I thought homemade flower cupcakes would be a real treat!

At first I didn’t know how I would decorate them, but once I started it just sort of came together. I made chocolate cupcakes for the color to resemble soil, green buttercream frosting to resemble leaves/grass, and fondant for the flowers. My mom was so happy with them she didn’t (still doesn’t) want anyone to eat them. :)

And did you know that making fondant roses are ridiculously easy? I’m not kidding, why didn’t anyone tell me all you needed were tiny little flattened circles of fondant? They look so professional!

And because I love you, I put the directions for the fondant roses at the bottom. And the pictures are right here in case my directions are incoherent.

My mom loves me now :)

Mother’s Day Rose Cupcake Garden How-To

Materials needed: Silicon cupcake liner pots and cupcake liners.

Chocolate Cupcakes
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare muffin pan and silicon liners.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the muffin tins.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream Recipe
(adapted from foodnetwork.com)

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions

1. In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
2. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Fondant Roses

1. Make 6 little balls of fondant.
2. Take one of the balls, and make it a cylindrical shape. Flatten it using your hands or a Ziploc bag to create an oval shape. Roll it into a spiral shape. That will be the center of the rose.
3. Flatten the rest of the balls into circles.
4. One by one, add the circles onto the spiral, forming a petal. Repeat with the rest of the circles.