These cupcakes are really fun to make with the whole family to help you celebrate one of the biggest days in the Irish calendar. They also taste great too and are very easy to make. These are regulars in our kitchen on St Patrick’s Day, and we’ve been busy this morning whipping up a batch for the family to enjoy today as part of the “Paddy’s Day” celebrations!
We made the decorations using mini marshmallows, some fondant icing and good quality food colouring. You can get creative in your own style and make any themed decorations.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 110g/4oz butter or margarine (at room temperature)
- 110g/4oz caster sugar
- 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 110g/4oz self-raising flour
- 1-2 tbsp milk
For the buttercream:
- 140g/5oz butter, softened
- 280g/10oz icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- a few drops of good quality food colouring
For the decorations:
- mini marshmallows
- fondant icing
- a few drops of good quality food colouring
This recipe makes 12 cupcakes
1. Prepare the cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12-hole muffin or cupcake tin with paper cases. We used silver cases but any colour will do.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and beat in the eggs a little at a time. Stir in the vanilla extract. Once combined, fold in the sifted flour. Add a little milk and combine. Spoon the mixture evenly into the paper cases, they should be about half full.
2. Bake the cupcakes
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and insert a skewer into one of the cupcakes, ensuring it comes out clean. This means your cupcakes are ready. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
3. Make the fondant decorations
While the cupcakes are cooling, begin to make the St. Patrick’s themed decorations. You can get really creative with these. Take a small amount of fondant and mix well with the food colouring of your choice (although we recommend sticking to green for St Patrick’s Day) and mould into different shaped decorations. We made pints of Guinness, leprechaun hats, shamrocks and pots of gold. We also made sheep faces and added the mini marshmallows after we buttercreamed the cupcakes.
Top Tip: use food grade gloves to protect your hands from the food colouring when you are colouring the fondant.
4. Make the buttercream
Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft, we used an electric mixer. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add a couple of drops of green food colouring and mix until well combined.
Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the icing onto the cooled cup cakes.
5. Decorate the cupcakes and enjoy!
Swirl the green buttercream onto the cupcakes and and top with a decoration. For the woolly sheep, add a fondant shaped face and mini marshmallows.
Serve and enjoy. Happy St Patrick’s Day guys, from Nial and Helen 🙂
What have you made in the kitchen to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day today? Share your creations with us by commenting below or connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter
