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Hydrangea Cupcakes

Name: Hydrangea Cupcakes
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups cake flour (can use all-purpose flour, but results will not be as tender); 1 1/4 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 large eggs (at room temperature); 3/4 cup white sugar; 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract; 1/2 cup canola/vegetable or other neutral oil; 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice and let stand 5 minutes); 3 cups icing/confectioners' sugar; 1 cup butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1-2 Tbsp milk or cream

Mar 23, 2016 | by Jennifer | Last Updated: April 12, 2021

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Brighten up your Easter, Mother's Day or just Spring eating with these beautiful cupcakes decorated to look like hydrangeas. Enjoy a sweet bouquet!

I think the only thing nicer than Spring flowers, is Spring flowers that come in cupcake form! I first stumbled on these cupcakes 4 years ago or so, on a blog called Glorious Treats. I was immediately smitten and made up a batch at that time. I was surprised at how easy they were to make and how pretty they turned out, despite my lack of piping skills. So let me assure you first off, if I can do this, you can do this :)

I hadn't thought of these cupcakes since then, but I came across a photo of them on Pinterest recently, and thought I was long over-due for another batch.

I made my cupcakes from scratch, borrowing a delicious vanilla cupcake recipe from Natasha's Kitchen. A vanilla cake mix will work just fine as well. Same for the icing. Make it yourself (recipe also below) or buy some vanilla icing and colour it to order. As you like. Beyond that, you will need a piping bag, a Wilton 2D piping tip and some food colouring. See the "Cook's Notes" below the recipe for some more on that.

Cook's Notes

The cooking time for the cupcakes would seem to vary a bit. The original author said hers were ready in 14 minutes. At 14 minutes, mine were still quite liquid. Mine took a full 18 minutes to test clean. I would suggest you start checking at 14 minutes, but don't be surprised if they take longer.

For the frosting equipment, for Canadians, you can find the Wilton 2D tip (and some handy, dandy plastic disposable icing bags) easily at Bulk Barn. I suspect Michael's also has them. It's quite a commonly used tip, so any cake decorating store (or Amazon, if all else fails), should carry it.

I also picked up a couple colours of gel food colouring at Bulk Barn. I find these easier, as you buy the exact colour you want, without having to worry about mixing different colours to get your desired colour. A word of warning though, they pack a colour punch. Start with a dab (I like to use wooden popsicle sticks to add colouring to icing) and work your want up a bit at a time. As I mention above, you want to keep the intensity of the colours the same, so if you have a pastel purple, keep your blue in the pastel range, as well. Similarly, if you want a vibrant purple, go with a more vibrant blue.

For my cupcakes, I used white, lilac and cornflower blue. These would also be pretty in a couple of shades of pink (with the white) or a combination of pink and purple, instead of blue and purple. I'd also love to try a cream, very pale pink and very pale Spring green some time (like the white hydrangeas you can buy this time of year).

After you have filled your piping bag, be sure to move the icing down the bag (towards the tip) very evenly, so all 3 colours move down together. It may help to unfold the bag completely, lay flat on the counter and use a the full length of your hand to move it evenly.

As mentioned above, if your frosting seems to have softened a bit as you filled your bag or as you pipe your cupcakes, simply take the whole bag and pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes to firm it up before proceeding.

These cupcakes freeze well, either just the cupcakes made ahead or after they've been iced. If they have been frosted, simply freeze on a baking sheet first, then transfer to a freezer bag once the frosting is firm.