One of my absolute favorite things about Spring (besides the warmer weather, of course!), are all the flowers that start to bloom. After a dark, gray winter outside becomes a rainbow of color! Hydrangeas always rank high on my list of best flowers for their gorgeous colors and also their durability. I am always shocked by how long they stay fresh when I buy them at the grocery store. (Side note: Did you know hydrangeas actually take in water from their petals? To keep them fresh longest, gently mist the petals daily. If they start to wilt "shock" them back to life by dunking the whole flower head in warm water.)
In addition to my love of hydrangeas, I also love cupcakes. I mean who doesn't? You get the perfect ratio of cake to frosting in every bite! After a little Pinterest inspiration a few weeks ago, I decided to try my hand at making hydrangea cupcakes. I was so happy with the way they turned out, I served them at Easter dinner and they were a hit. Because again, who doesn't love cupcakes?!?
These cupcakes have a vanilla base, but you could also make chocolate if you prefer, and then a vanilla cream cheese frosting. Decorating the cupcakes to resemble the hydrangea petals takes a lot of time and patience, so to save time I used box cake mix and frosting.
Wouldn't these be perfect to serve at a garden shower or brunch?
- Vanilla or chocolate cupcakes
- Vanilla frosting
- Food coloring
- While your cupcakes are cooling, you'll want to separate your frosting into two bowls and begin creating your "petal" colors. I like to start with a small amount of food coloring and then add more until I get the right shade.
- When you are happy with your colors, combine both into one piping bag side by side. (This is a little tricky and can get messy!) The flowers I chose were mostly purple with a little blue, so I put the purple into the piping bag first and then added in the blue. This made the purple the dominant color when squeezing it out of the piping bag.
- For the piping tip, you'll want to use a closed star shape. Start by piping a ring around the cupcake and then work your way in to the center. You want to try and keep each petal around the same size, so I would squeeze my piping bag for 2 seconds then release each time. If you find your frosting getting soft, just pop it into the fridge for 5 - 10 minutes. This will make it much easier to work with and will keep the petal shape better.
