Edible flower pots with buttercream flowers

Name: Edible flower pots with buttercream flowers
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Switzerland
Ingredients: 50 g whole egg; 150 g granulated sugar; 100 g sunflower oil; 200 g crème fraîche; 320 g grated carrots; 10 g candied ginger bits; 200 g white flour; 8 g baking powder; 17 g egg white powder (pasteurised); 85 g water (cold); 1 tsp. vanilla extract or flavouring; 340 g butter, soft

Colourful Flower Pot Cupcakes

Now that spring is here, the flowers are slowly beginning to bloom, breathing new life into nature. The trees are turning green again and the meadows are bursting with colour once more. This brings joy not only to the animals, but to us humans as well. We’ve come up with a little treat to suit the season: a moist carrot cupcake, disguised as a colourful flowerpot! Many people are daunted by buttercream flowers because they don’t know how to make them. Here, we’ll show you how to conjure up beautiful blooms using a Russian piping nozzle. You don’t need to pick any flowers, and everything is completely edible, so there’s no need to throw away anything that’s gone wilted. That said, these flower pots probably won’t last quite as long as cut flowers – they’re absolutely delicious and will be gobbled up far too quickly. But the best thing about these edible flower pots is that you really don’t need green fingers to make them – just a bit of skill and the right equipment!

Key figures

Quantity: 12 pieces

Baking time: approx. 25 minutes

Difficulty: Medium

Shelflife: 5 days

Carrot Cupcake Recipe

Whole egg \| Beaten egg		50 g
Granulated sugar		150 g
Sunflower oil		100 g
crème fraîche		200 g
Carrots \| grated		320 g
Pieces of ginger \| candied		10 g
plain flour		200 g
Baking powder		8 g

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Protein powder \| pasteurised		17 g
Water \| cold		85 g
Granulated sugar		240 g
Vanilla extract or flavouring		1 tsp
Butter \| softened		340 g
ProGel colours		as required

Cupcake baking pan for 12 cupcakes

Ready-to-ship quantity: more than 20 pieces

CHF29.90

Cupcake Cups White, 200 pieces

Ready-to-ship quantity: more than 20 pieces

CHF6.40

Cookie cutter set rings, 14 pieces

Ready-to-ship quantity: 4

CHF26.90

How to make the carrot cupcake

First preheat the oven to 160°C (fan), so that it’s at the right temperature when you’re ready to bake the dough.

For the batter, beat the eggs together with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Now add the sunflower oil and the crème fraîche to the fluffy mixture and mix thoroughly. Now you can also add the grated carrot and ginger to the mixture and fold them in gently. Next, mix the flour with the baking powder, then add it to the mixture and mix until you have a smooth batter.

Finally, divide the batter evenly between the muffin cases (each cupcake will take about 85 g) and bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Then leave them to cool thoroughly.

To prepare the cooled muffins perfectly for the flower pots, you’ll need to cut them out using a suitable cookie cutter. You can crumble the leftover cupcake mixture into the bottom of the pot (muffin ‘soil’, so to speak), then place the cut-out cupcake on top. This way, you won’t waste any food, you’ll have a nice smooth surface on top, and the cupcake will be the ideal height for the chocolate pot.

Pasteurized protein powder 100 g

Ready-to-ship quantity: more than 20 pieces

CHF8.50

ProGel food coloring rainbow set 6 colors

Ready-to-ship quantity: 17

CHF29.50

Vanilla extract, 20 ml

Ready-to-ship quantity: more than 20 pieces

CHF9.50

Making Swiss meringue buttercream

Mix the egg white powder with the cold water and then leave it to soak in the fridge for about 20 minutes, until there are no lumps left. Then add the sugar to the egg white mixture.

Meanwhile, you can bring some water to the boil in a saucepan; you’ll then use the steam to warm the sugar and egg white mixture, making it smooth and soft. Make sure the mixture doesn’t get too hot and that all the sugar crystals dissolve. To test it, dip your finger into the mixture and rub the egg white between your two fingers. If you can still feel sugar crystals, you’ll need to warm the mixture a little longer; once it’s nice and smooth, you can move on to the next step.

Beat the egg whites until stiff using a hand mixer or a food processor. Once the mixture is nice and stiff, you can add the vanilla essence and the butter. The butter has a big impact on the consistency of the finished cream, so it’s important that it’s neither too hard nor too soft. But don’t panic if you notice that there are still lumps of butter in the cream because it was too hard, or if the cream is too runny. You can easily adjust the consistency afterwards by either warming the cream again with a little steam or popping it in the fridge for a short while, as required. The buttercream should have a smooth, pliable consistency, but not be too soft. Once the cream is ready, you can now divide it into different bowls and colour it. Use a separate bowl for each colour you wish to use. If you’re working with gel colours, it’s best to start with a little less colour and add more as needed. Gel colours are very concentrated and opaque.

Disposable piping bag transparent 20 pieces

Ready-to-ship quantity: more than 20 pieces

CHF6.90

Tulle set tulip field 12 pieces

Ready-to-ship quantity: 14

CHF43.50

Tulle set flower meadow 12 pieces

Ready-to-ship quantity: 6

CHF43.50

Now you can prepare the piping bag and the nozzles. We recommend using the appropriate adapters so that you can change the nozzles whilst piping, in case you want to make another flower in the same colour.

Lay out a piece of cling film and spread the buttercream colour you’d like to have on the outer edge of the flower in the shape of a rectangle. For the centre of the flower, place the relevant buttercream in a line down the middle of the buttercream you’ve already spread out (see video 14:00 mins). Using the cling film, roll the cream up so that the mixture looks like an elongated roll and the colour for the centre of the flower is enclosed in the middle. The cling film should wrap around the roll to help it retain its shape. You can either leave the two short ends open, or twist them closed and then cut open only the side facing the nozzle – the side from which the buttercream will come out – before placing it in the piping bag. Place the roll lengthways into the piping bags, which have already been fitted with an adapter and a nozzle.

To pipe the flowers now, hold the nozzle perpendicular to the surface, hold it there for a moment to allow the buttercream to adhere to the surface, and then slowly pull the piping bag with the nozzle upwards, applying even pressure. Finally, simply lift the nozzle away carefully. It’s best to practise on a piece of paper or card first. Once you’ve piped the flowers onto the cupcakes, you can finish by placing the leaves between the blooms to hide any gaps and add even more colour to the pot. Your flower pot is now ready! Make sure you don’t place it in direct sunlight or in places that are too warm, otherwise the buttercream (and the flower pot itself) might melt, and the flowers will no longer be recognisable as such!

Enjoy!