Easter Cupcakes

Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 12 cupcakes liners to a 12-hole cupcake pan.
2. Combine the soft butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with a stand mixer with whisk attachment until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla and beat until the mixture is voluminous.
4. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt then add it to the bowl with creamed butter. Use a spatula to gently fold it into the batter.
5. Pour the milk into the bowl with batter and fold until combined.
6. Divide the cupcake batter between the 12 cupcake liners filling them 2/3 full.
7. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 18 minutes or until the cupcakes have risen and are a pale golden brown color. When properly baked, they will feel springy to the touch.
8. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

1. Fill a saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring it to a simmer. Put the egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and set it over the simmering pan. Do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water or the egg whites will scramble.
2. Use a handheld whisk to beat continuously for 4-5 minutes. The mixture will look frothy. Dip your finger into the mixture and feel it between your fingers. If you can feel any grain keep heating and mixing until you can feel the mixture is smooth and slippery. This means the sugar has dissolved.
3. Add the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on a medium-high speed until the egg whites reach stiff peaks. This will take at least 10 minutes but sometimes longer.
4. When the egg whites are at stiff peaks feel the outside of the bowl. It should be cool by now but if it isn’t put the whole bowl into the fridge for 10 minutes.
5. Swap the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment.
6. When the outside of the bowl is cool, add the butter a tbsp at a time. Beat on high speed fully incorporating each addition of butter until all the butter has been added.
7. At this point the mixture will look split. Do no panic! Add the vanilla extract and keep the mixer running until the mixture comes together into a silky smooth Swiss meringue buttercream.
8. Add a drop of food coloring and briefly beat until the buttercream is a uniform color. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle (we used a Wilton 1M).

Decorating

1. Pipe the buttercream in swirls on top of the cooled cupcakes.
2. To add a speckled effect mix the cocoa powder and vanilla then dip a small paintbrush into the mixture and flick it on to the cupcakes using your finger.
3. For a final flourish add 3 mini Easter eggs to the top of each cupcake.