Recently we were introduced to two new family friends, Victoria & Ava (big wave to Victoria & Ava!) Mum & I had planned for us all to enjoy a lovely family picnic at a well equipped local park. Mother nature, however, had other ideas; the temperature dropped dramatically and the day before they arrived from the warmer climes of Essex a reasonable amount of snow fell here in Yorkshire. The snow soon disappeared, but the chilly weather, as you may recall, lingered a few days longer putting an end to our picnic idea. All was not a washout though. Following our indoor picnic we took a leisurely stroll to the local park and wandered around the butterfly house, watched Ava whilst she tried out the climbing frame and swings before pitting our muscles against those of Mr E & my brother on the exercise equipment!
Walking home our young friend Ava spotted some beautiful daisies. Many were tinged with a deep pink to their petals, and being like many young girls who love all things pink, floral and glittery she made a beeline for those prettier ones. With a fist full of daisies we made our way home to assemble a daisy chain! It's been (cough) years since I last picked daisies and built a chain; I'm not sure who enjoyed the activity the most, Ava or I!
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| Images courtesy of Pixaby |
So, having been inspired by our young friend, I donned my pinny and rustled up some daisy themed cupcakes. OK, the sugar flowers are actually blossom and not having the skills (yet) to pipe a daisy you will have to imagine them to be daisies! Having decided to flavour the cakes, I rapidly came to the conclusion that mint would be an effective flavour for the green grass. And what better accompaniment for mint than chocolate! Both cocoa and chocolate chips were incorporated into my preferred sponge mixture, the Victoria sponge. These mint choc-chip cupcakes were then topped with a green buttercream, which had been lightly flavoured with mint. My attempt at using icing to represent grass using a number 133 nozzle certainly requires more practice, the cakes resembled an overgrown, neglected garden and nothing like the manicured lawns fitting of stately homes that I was aiming for! So having scraped off the offending icing, I started again with a small star nozzle (number 32) and decorated the mint choc-chip daisy cupcakes more classically with a cluster of small swirls before finishing the bake with a few sugar flowers.
With a green frosting to represent the grass and shop bought mini sugar flowers, I think these mint choc-chip cupcakes would receive a thumbs up from both young and old who love the colour pink and pretty flowers. I restrained myself and stood away from the edible glitter thinking that less is more (though I have used it in our Free Standing Raspberry & Glitter Trifle.) Ava, what do you think, should I have used the glitter? 🙂
So let's get to it and bake!
print recipe
These mint choc-chip cupcakes not only look pretty but taste amazing too. These cupcakes were decorated with pretty pink flowers and a green 'grass' buttercream.
Prep time: 35 mins Cook time: 20 mins Yield: 6
Specific Equipment
6 x muffin sized cupcake cases
For the Cupcake Sponges
- 90g Butter, unsalted & softened
- 45g Golden Caster Sugar
- 45g Caster Sugar
- 2 Large Egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp Milk
- 75g SR Flour
- 15g Cocoa Powder
- 1 generous handful Milk Chocolate Chips
For the Frosting
- 140g Butter, unsalted & softened
- 280g Icing Sugar
- small splash Milk
- Green Food Paste Colourant
- ½ - 1 capful Peppermint Flavouring
For the Decoration
- approx 30 small Sugarcraft Flowers
6. Decorate the buns. Once the cakes are completely cold pipe a small amount of frosting onto each cupcake and spread it out with a pallet knife so that the chocolate sponge beneath is fully hidden. Pipe small swirls or rosettes onto the top of each cupcake. Gently place a few sugar flowers randomly onto the frosting (I used 5 on each of our cakes). 7. Enjoy!
Notes:
a) If you prefer your cupcakes to have a stronger chocolate flavour, simply remove a dessert spoon of flour and replace it with the same quantity of cocoa. b)The amount of colurant you will need to add to your buttercream frosting will depend upon the shade you're aiming for and the brand you purchased. Some brands of colourant are more effective than others. You may only need to add a small quantity from the tip of a toothpick, though with others you may need to add most of the tube. Therefore, if you're unsure about the colour you're using take it slowly as you can always add more to achieve the shade you want. c) Add only half a cupful of the peppermint flavouring before tasting and add more if required, after all you don't want it to taste of toothpaste!
Jenny - Monkey and Mouse
They look lovely! Chocolate and mint is one of my favourite combinations for cakes, it tastes so good and refreshing. I love the little story behind these too. Thanks for linking up to #HowtoSunday
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Jenny, chocolate and mint is a delicious combination of flavours.
Thanks for hosting such a great linky,
Angela x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
Oooh Angela, these cupcakes are so pretty! I love how you have used peppermint in the froosting, I imagine them to be so tasty x #CookBlogShare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
🙂 Thank you Kirsty, it's amazing where inspiration for a bake comes from sometimes. The peppermint frosting was gorgeous especially against the chocolate chip sponge.
Thanks for popping by Kirsty,
Angela x
Mandy
What pretty cakes! I know what my four year old daughter would say if you asked whether to use edible glitter! #CookBlogShare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Hahaha I some how doubt that she'd say "leave it in the cupboard Mummy, we don't need glitter" 😉
Thanks for your lovely comments Mandy, and of course for popping by,
Angela x
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes
These look so pretty! And I bet they taste even better 🙂 Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Hayley, they were really very yummy and didn't last very long at all 😉
Thanks for popping by and of course for hosting,
Angela x
Sarah Trivuncic
These are so pretty! Love the colour combination! Thanks for joining in with #BAKEoftheWEEK 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Sarah, they're particularly girlie in their colours aren't they 🙂
Thanks for hosting,
Angela x
Corina
What lovely inspiration for cupcakes and they look beautiful - I know my little girl would love it if we made some of these!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Corina, it's amazing where ideas spring from isn't it 🙂
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Helen Costello
Beautifully decorated! I think they look just right without the glitter (and its not very often I say no glitter!) Love the soft green of the frosting too. Thanks once again for joining in with #BakeoftheWeek
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
I changed my mind so many times regarding the glitter situation Helen, but in the end I came back to my usual theory that less is more though I'm sure youngsters would have a different opinion 😉
I agree the soft colour of the green frosting is lovely, but I was expecting it to be much more 'grass green' given the shade on the tube!
Thanks for popping by and your lovely comments Helen, and of course for hosting,
Angela x
Kat BakingExplorer
Wow these are absolutely stunning, such beautiful decoration! Thank you for entering into Treat Petite!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Kat:-) and of course thank you for hosting,
Angela x
Midgie
These are gorgeous! I love how pretty you can make a cupcake and yes you can never have too much edible glitter!!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Cupcakes certainly do lend themselves to be 'prettified' don't they. I think you're right Midgie I should have done for it with the glitter 🙂
Thanks for popping by and your lovely comment,
Angela x
Leigh @ Don't Sweat The Recipe
Mint chocolate chip is my absolute FAVORITE! I don't think I could make them as pretty as you did, though. 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
it's such a classic combo for a very good reason isn't it. Thank you Leigh, the pretty daisies did most of the work though 🙂
Thanks for popping by and your lovely comment,
Angela x
Sarah CraftInvaders
These look adorable, Really beautiful staging too 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Sarah 🙂 I took a little stroll to our local park to collect the daisies for the pictures. Sadly this park didn't have any daisies with pink tinges to their petals - they were all white for some reason.
Thank for your lovely comments,
Angela x
Eb Gargano
Oh wow these are so pretty! Love the photographs 🙂 The mint grass reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which I am currently reading to my kids - Willy Wonka has mint flavoured grass in his Chocolate Room!! My daughter (age 7) would definitely say you need more glitter!! 😉 Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Ah! I had no idea Willy Wonka's Chocolate Room had mint flavoured grass....if he has some more gold tickets to find I'll certainly hope to find one 😉 I think you're right about the glitter Eb, I think I should have thrown caution to the wind and gone with the whole pink, flower and glitter combo 😉
Thank you for your lovely comments Eb,
Angela x
Eb Gargano
We are reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the moment, which is why I know such important facts!! My daughter would always say you need more glitter, no matter what the situation!! Even in your lemon curd, I expect 😉 Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Ooh, glittered lemon curd - now there's a thought 😉
They're very important fact Eb to your little ones, (and perhaps may be the winning answer in a pub quiz one day....you never know 😉 )
Angela x
Eb Gargano
Oh I do hope so - I would be quite good if there was a Roald Dahl round, or just a children's literature round! Ha - I'd love to see some glittery lemon curd - it could be the next new Pinterest phenomenon!! Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Hahaha, why limit our lemon curd and glitter preserve (though other flavours are available 😉 ) to Pinterest...I think we should aim for global dominance 😉 though we may need some more pans and bowls not to mention a bigger kitchen 😉
Angela x
Reimer Ruby
These looks beautifully decorated and looks yum too! Thanks for sharing the recipe! #LifeLovingLinkie
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you 🙂
Alison
What pretty cakes, you piped them beautifully
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
🙂 thank you Alison.....but you really should have seen the original grass - very disheveled 😉
Angela x
Life Loving
These look gorgeous. I've got a big box of tips, I'll have to have a play around and see if I can recreate a similar look to this. I bet they were yummy too.
Sally @ Life Loving
#LifeLovingLinkie
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Sally, they definitely were yummy 🙂 I too have a big box of piping tips, I really must start practicing with the different shapes some more rather than sticking with the safe star nozzles.
Thanks for popping by Sally,
Angela x