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Bee cupcakes recipe

Bee cupcakes recipe

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Kids will love these cute bee cupcakes and they can help you prepare them, too. Studded with white chocolate chips and given a fresh lift with orange zest, these are perfect for a bee-themed birthday party or Easter celebration. See method

  • Serves 12 (makes 12 cupcakes)
  • 42 mins to prepare and 18 mins to cook
  • 396 calories / serving

Ingredients

  • 125g unsalted butter, softened
  • 125g golden caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 125g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 orange, zested
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 50g white chocolate chips

For the icing

  • 100g white chocolate
  • 150g unsalted butter, softened
  • 140g icing sugar, sifted

For the bees

  • 100g yellow fondant icing
  • 50g black fondant icing
  • 12 white chocolate buttons
  • black or brown writing icing pen
No self-raising flour? Add 2 tsp baking powder for every 150g plain flour

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    1655kj
    396kcal     20%

  • Fat

    25g 35%

  • Saturates

    14g 72%

  • Sugars

    41g 45%

  • Salt

    0.2g 3%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 42.4g Protein 2.2g Fibre 0.3g

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Fill a 12-hole muffin tin with yellow paper cupcake cases.
  2. Get the kids to help you put 125g butter into a large bowl, add the caster sugar and beat with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Carefully crack the eggs into the bowl one at a time and beat well between each addition. Sift over the flour and baking powder, and fold in using a large metal spoon. Add half the orange zest and the milk, and carefully fold the mixture until it is smooth. Stir in the white chocolate drops.

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  3. Using a teaspoon, the kids can divide the mixture between the cupcake cases then smooth the tops with the back of the teaspoon. Put the muffin tin into the oven and bake the cupcakes for 18 mins, or until well-risen, golden and lightly springy to touch.
  4. Remove the tin from the oven and carefully transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. Meanwhile, make the icing. Break the white chocolate into squares, put in a non-metallic bowl and melt the chocolate in 30-sec bursts in the microwave, stirring between each burst, until just melted; set aside to cool. Alternatively, if you don’t have a microwave, put the chocolate squares into a bowl that fits snugly over a pan of gently simmering water on a gentle heat. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl or the chocolate will seize. Leave, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted.

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  6. The kids can help you put the butter and icing sugar into a large bowl then beat with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Fold in the melted chocolate and the remaining orange zest. Place a straight nozzle into the base of a piping bag and fill with the icing.

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  7. Once the cupcakes are cool, pipe the icing onto the top of each cupcake in a swirl that looks like a beehive.

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  8. For the bees, break and roll the yellow fondant icing into 12 small slightly oval shaped balls about 2.5-3cm long. Break off a piece of black fondant and roll it with the tips of your fingertips on a board until it is a sausage shape approximately 3mm thick and 14cm long. Cut this into 2 pieces and then wrap 1 piece round the yellow body to make a stripe. Wrap the other sausage round the body next to the first stripe. Cut the white chocolate buttons in half then put them on the back of the body to resemble wings. Draw eyes and a smiley mouth on the front of each bee using the writing icing pen, then set aside for 10 mins to allow the icing to set. Put a bee onto the side of each cupcake, and serve.

Tip: If you are unable to find ready-to-roll yellow and black fondant icing, use white ready-to-roll fondant icing, add a few drops of yellow and black food colouring and blend with your fingertips until it is the desired colour.

Freezing guidelines: Make the cupcakes up to the end of step 4, cool completely, and then pack into a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost fully before decorating.

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