Cute Baby Shower Cupcakes

You can use homemade marzipan decorations to make these darling cupcakes very personal. Or simply frost them with the buttercream then sprinkle with flaked coconut or pastel-or silver coloured dragées.

MAKES: 18 cupcakes

PREP TIME: 1 hour

COOKING TIME: about 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

CUPCAKES

• 1 cup cake-and-pastry flour
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (3%)
• 2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup whole milk

DECORATIONS:

• 1 ½ cups Marzipan (about half of the recipe) Gel food colouring of your choice
• Icing sugar for dusting
• 1 batch of Quick Buttercream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two muffin pans with 18 large paper liners, then set aside. Pour water into any empty wells to prevent burning.
2.  For the cupcakes, whisk together both flours, the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg and egg whites, yogurt and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
4.  In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Beat in the sugar until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
5.  With the mixer running on low speed, beat in the flour mixture and milk just until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
6.  Turn down the mixer speed to low, then beat one-third of the egg mixture into the butter mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the egg mixture is fully incorporated before adding half of the remaining egg mixture. Repeat with the remaining egg mixture.
7.  Fill the paper liners about two-thirds full with batter. Bake until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
8.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and let cool completely. (The undecorated cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.)
9. For the decorations, divide the marzipan into three or more even-sized pieces (depending on the number of shades of food colouring you have). Using a toothpick or a wooden skewer, add a small amount
   of food colouring to each piece of marzipan. Knead the colouring into the marzipan until it’s uniformly distributed. Keep the pieces of marzipan wrapped well in plastic wrap until you’re ready to roll them.
10.  On a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll out each piece of marzipan to ⅛-inch thickness. Cut out 18 scalloped circles or stars, slightly smaller than the tops of the cupcakes.
11.  From the remaining marzipan, cut out shapes of your choice. Brush each circle or star lightly with water and top with a marzipan shape.
12.  Arrange the marzipan decorations on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature (or in the fridge) until ready to use.
13.  Prepare the buttercream, adding the 1 teaspoonful of vanilla and the salt as listed.
14.  Using an offset spatula or a piping bag, swirl the buttercream on top of the cupcakes. Gently press a marzipan decoration onto the buttercream. (The decorated cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Bring them to room temperature before serving.)