Mother's Day Cupcakes

Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4) and line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake cases.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs one by one mixing well between each one, then add the rose water OR orange blossom extract.

Carefully fold in the flour then spoon into the cupcake cases until they are about 2/3 full. Place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes until the cakes are golden brown in colour and a skewer comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

To make the buttercream, mix together the icing sugar and butter starting slowly then at a higher speed until the buttercream is light and fluffy, then split into 3 batches. Add the orange blossom water and some green food colouring to one batch and mix well, then colour the remaining batch pink.

Fill a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle, star for piping swirls or a curved border nozzle for leaf shaped buttercream.  Then decorate the cupcake starting from the outside edge of the cake and working in, follow the picture for your chosen pattern.

You can finish the cupcakes with flowers made from sugar paste by rolling out the icing and cutting out a shape using icing cutters, then place on top of the cake.