Katja's Field of Primroses Recipe

Words by Jo Orriss

Photos by Steve Painter

Katja has beautifully decorated her lemon syrup cupcakes with delicate buttercream pansies. Why not put your nozzles to the test and have a go at creating a delicious field of flowers of your own.This recipe makes 9 large cupcakes.

Ingredients for cupcakes-

Zest of 2 lemons-

3 eggs-

175g caster sugar-

Pinch of salt-50ml butter (melted)-

75 ml cream-

140 self raising flour

Method-

Whisk the lemon zest, sugar and eggs until creamy.

Slowly add the melted butter.-

Fold in half of the flour and salt.-

Add the cream and the rest of the flour. You may find that you need to give it a bit -of a whisk, just long enough to create a smooth batter.-

Line a cupcake tin with cake cases and divide the batter equally into each.-

Bake at 180°C / 356°F / Gas Mark 4 for 20-24 minutes.

Ingredients for lemon syrup-

Juice of 2 lemons-

2 tablespoons sugar

Method-

Heat the mixture until the sugar is dissolved.-

Pour over the cupcakes until absorbed.

Ingredients for buttercream-

280g butter, softened-

560g icing sugar-2-4 tbsp milk-

1/2tsp vanilla extract-

Appropriate food colour. I use Rainbow Gel but you can get gel colours from any supermarket. Gel colours are easier to incorporate into buttercream than liquid colours.

Method-Heat the sugar and water until gently boiling (116°C)-Slowly pour the boiling sugar water over the eggs, whisking continuously. Leave to cool.-Beat the butter until creamed, then slowly add sugar water and vanilla extract.

Now for the fun part!

1. Start by separating your buttercream into as many colours as you would like to use. Gently add food colouring to each bowl until well mixed.

2. Fill each of your piping bags, selecting different tips for different shapes.

3. For the two-colour petal effect, lay out two colours on cling-film as shown, wrap into a tube leaving one end open, place into the tip of the piping bag and squeeze out, filling the bag with side-by-side colours.

4. Top tip from Katja: be sure to twist the top of the piping bag for maximum control.

5. Using a spatula or knife, coat the tops of the cupcakes with a layer of plain buttercream.

6. Use a large petal nozzle (flat, angled) to create the leaves.

7. Use a large petal nozzle (flat) with the two colours of buttercream to create the petals on top of the leaves.

8. Finish by adding the centre of the flower with a writing tip (finer) nozzle.