Mother’s Day Vanilla Cupcakes with Rose Petal Buttercream Icing

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin tray with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and continue to beat together. Add dry ingredients gradually, alternating with the milk, until fully mixed together.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20 minutes. Using a toothpick, check that the centre of the cupcake comes out clean. Let cool for 5–10 minutes in the muffin tray. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the buttercream icing:
In a large bowl, beat butter using an electric mixer. Add vanilla and cream together until light and fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar gradually, mixing on medium speed.

Add milk and food colouring and continue to mix together until light and fluffy. If using liquid food colouring, you may need to add a little more sugar.

To pipe the roses, secure a 2D tip onto a piping bag and fill the bag with icing. In the middle of the cupcake, pipe a small amount of icing. Slowly work your way around, counter-clockwise, until you reach the outer edge of the cupcake. Repeat with the all the cupcakes.