Spring Flower Cupcakes

Since Easter occurs in Spring, there's no shortage of florals - whether it's outdoors or in your decor. And we're certainly not complaining! We can't seem to get enough of the pretty buds, so we've taken to incorporating florals into so much more than our decor. That's right, we've taken our love for those sweet smelling plants and turned them into cocktails and even desserts!

Martha Stewart is the inspiration behind this creation! We made a batch of blue blooms for our Easter table, but feel free to create chrysanthemum cupcakes in any color you'd like! Opt for generic spring colors like yellow or light blue for a Spring time feel, or choose a color to match your decor theme.

Don't just serve these pretty pastries on a plain old plate, either! Get creative with the presentation. Serve them in a mini Easter Basket, surrounded by peeps and jellybeans for a bright and youthful spread. (Extra points if that basket is held up by an oversized stuffed rabbit). Or for a more light and Spring-y feel, serve on a regular cake stand surrounded by real flowers. Use what the season gave you and keep your spread festive.

And remember, an easy way to dress any cupcake up is with a festive cupcake wrapper! We call it the lazy way out, but sometimes a baker's gotta do what a baker's gotta do.

Ingredients:

24 cupcakes

pastry bag

thin pastry bag tip (we used a 2 closed star)

buttercream icing (about 1lb worth, 1 part white, 3 part color)

Directions:

1. Separate your butter cream icing - keep 1/4 of it white and dye the remainder whatever color you'd like by adding drops of food coloring.

2. Add the white to your piping bag first. Secure the top with one hand and use this same hand to apply pressure. With your other ha nd guide the bag. You want to start in the center of your cupcake, pipe the icing and gently pull up.

3. Continue doing this and work your way from the center to the edges. Once you've covered the center, repeat the process with the colored icing. Work your way from the center to the outer edges.

Prep Time:

25 minutes to make cupcakes, 15 minutes for icing