Cupcake Bouquet

I made this cute cupcake bouquet with vanilla butter cream frosting for the first time and it was a huge success for me since I am not a professional cake decorator. All you need certain materials from craft store to make a wonderful bouquet to impress dear ones. This edible bouquet is quite satisfying for kid's sweet tooth. I used less sugar for the cupcakes because butter cream frosting is much sweeter than other frosting. So one cupcake per person wouldn't do any harm I guess. 

 

For the bouquet~   
18 standard cupcakes
Flower pot   
Styrofoam ball ( I used 6") that sits on the pot
Play dough 
Toothpicks
Decorating tip( I used Wilton open star 1M)
Pastry bag
Fresh flower and leaves
  
For the cake~
1-1/2 unbleached all purpose flour(8oz dry measuring cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs 
1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
18 standard baking liners
Muffing pan

For the frosting~
1-1/2 cups butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp milk
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 drops of red food color

Method~
Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk egg, sugar, milk and vanilla extract until combined. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the egg-sugar mixture. Add melted butter at the end of mixing and mix it gently. The batter will be thick. Do not over mix the batter. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners. We need 18 cupcakes for this bouquet. Bake for 14-15 minutes. Cool them completely on a wire rack.

Make the Buttercream frosting~ 
For fluffy frosting use a hand mixer. Beat the butter for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Then add powdered sugar little by little on low speed. You can make the frosting in advance. Refrigerate, then take it out and let it sit at room temperature until soft.

Assemble the cake~

Place the play dough to weigh down the pot and insert two toothpicks. Place the ball in the pot and push down to secure. First, insert 2 toothpicks on the very top. Then Insert 2 toothpicks approximately 3 fingers apart starting around the bottom of the ball. Then add the cupcakes. 10 cupcakes will fit there. Continue inserting toothpicks in the middle until all the way around the ball. 18 cupcakes will fit all together. See pictures below.

Frost the cake~

Fit the piping bag with a large open star tip and cut the end of the piping bag. Place the piping bag into a tall glass for easier filling.  Fill the bag 3/4 with the frosting. I recommend to practice  spiraling out with a cupcake. Don't worry if you mess up. Just scrape it off and pipe again. I did that couple of times. To pipe a swirl, start in the center of the cupcake. Quickly swirl applying pressure and spiraling out looking like a rose. Then release and tail off to finish spiraling out. Continue piping the cakes around the ball. Fill the gaps with fresh flowers and leaves. Refrigerate until served. It makes perfect gift for any occasion. Happy baking and frosting!!