Preheat the oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan)/375°F/gas mark 5. line a muffin tray with 11 paper muffin cases.

Beat the butter and caster sugar together until very pale and fluffy, then beat in the vanilla extract.

Gradually add the beaten egg a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Followed by the milk.

Beat the butter until soft and creamy. Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter and slowly beat in, then sieve the remaining icing sugar into the bowl and beat well to create a creamy frosting.

Add some of the green colour paste and mix until well combined and not streaky. Add a little milk as necessary until it is the softness you like.

Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a ‘grass’ nozzle. Pipe the buttercream over the cooled cupcakes to resemble grass (remember to keep one aside for the ‘soil’). Keep some of the frosting aside.

Prepare the fondants. Knead the white fondant until soft & pliable. Also knead the pink, orange & green fondants keeping the fondants separate to avoid colour contamination. If the fondant is particularly soft and sticky, work a little icing sugar in.

Make the bunny body. Pour some boiled water into a cup & allow it to cool. Take a piece of white fondant for the bunny’s body. Roll it between your hands to create a ball. Sit it on the work surface and gently press down to create a dome with a flat base. Position the dome on the cupcake.

Take two smaller pieces of white fondant, of equal size, to create the feet. Roll one into a ball between your hands and then apply a little pressure to one side (whilst still rolling it) to create a teardrop shape. Place the teardrop on the work surface and gently flatten it.

Use a small brush to apply a little of the sterile water to the bunny butt to affix the foot. Position the smaller end of the flattened tear drop to the butt. Repeat for the second foot.

Take another piece of white fondant for the bunny’s tail. Roll it between your hands to create a ball. Apply a little water to the bunny butt and affix the tail to it. With a small paring knife or cocktail stick (or similar) use the point to create a little texture to the tail. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Add detail to the bunny feet. You will need to create four small pink balls for each foot. One will be larger than the other three. Apply a little water to one of the bunny feet. Roll the slightly larger piece of pink fondant into a ball and affix it to the heal area of the foot. Gently squash it to make the pink pad flat. Roll each of the three smaller pink pieces of fondant into a ball and position to the edge of the foot for the toes. Gently apply a little pressure to flatten the balls in position. Repeat with the remaining bunny feet.

Apply a little more frosting. Use the remaining buttercream to pipe around the fondant bunny body where it touches the cupcake. This will help to hide the join making it look a little more natural.

Break up the spare cupcake in a bowl, rubbing the sponge to create fine crumbs. Carefully scatter some of the crumbs around the edge of the bunny to resemble soil that the rabbit may have dug out of the ground. Use a dry brush to clean the white of the bunny as necessary.

Make a carrot with a small amount of orange fondant. Roll the orange fondant into a ball. Apply a little pressure to one side to create a carrot shape. Use a fondant tool or tooth pick to make a hole in the frosting and use the tool to help guide the fondant carrot into position so that it is sticking up through the grass a little. Manipulate a small piece of green fondant into a short sausage shape. Apply a touch of water to the top of the fondant carrot. Affix the green fondant centrally over the ‘carrot’. Use a fondant tool or the length of a cocktail stick to press the green fondant down gently. This will help to pull the edges of the green fondant up slightly as though they are the carrot’s leaves.

Finally position a few flowers over the grass to complete the cupcakes.