Who is ready for summer and cute butterfly cupcakes? First, we prepare an easy, one-bowl orange-flavored batter, and then show two ways to create adorable butterfly cupcakes. These lovely cakes are perfect for Mother’s Day, birthdays or bridal showers. You can download the printable cupcake wrappers we used at the end of this post. The cupcake wrappers feature our Belton Butterfly design and will make your bakes look extra adorable!
Tools
- kitchen scale or measuring cups and spoons
- lemon juicer
- lemon grinder
- sieve
- large metal spoon
- large and small mixing bowls
- whisk (Alternatively, use an electric mixer.)
- 12-hole cupcake or muffin tin (pan)
- 12 paper cupcake cases (liners)
- oven mitts or kitchen towel
- cooling rack
- small paring knife
- cutting board
- palette knife or butter knife
Butterfly Cupcakes Recipe
First, we prepare an easy, one-bowl orange-flavored batter, and then show two ways to create adorable butterfly cupcakes. These lovely cakes are perfect for Mother’s Day, birthdays or bridal showers. If you want to make these cupcakes even more scrumptious, use a small spoon or a melon baller to scoop out a small hole in each cupcake and fill it with strawberry jam or raspberry jam!
Ingredients
For the batter
- 160 g (1 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 115 g (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 115 g (1/2 cup) castor (granulated) sugar
- 2 eggs (UK & Europe: M / US, Ca, AUS & NZ: L)
- the finely ground zest of 1 organic orange
- 2 – 3 tbsp orange juice
For the buttercream
- 115 g (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- powdered sugar
- 1 – 2 tbsp milk
For decorating
- fresh strawberries, cleaned and pulped
- powered (icing/confectioners’) sugar
Instructions
- Prep work. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F / gas mark 4), and line a twelve-hole cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
- Mix the batter. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter sugar, eggs, orange zest and orange juice. Mix until a combined, then distribute the batter equally into the prepared tin. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cupcakes have risen and look golden-brown. Place on a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.
Tip: We prefer mixing cupcake batter by hand to avoid overmixing, which makes the texture of the cupcakes denser and chewier. Of course, you can also use an electric mixer to prepare this step. Just be careful to stop the mixing process once all ingredients are just combined. - Make the buttercream. To make the buttercream, add powdered sugar and milk into a mixing bowl and combine on low speed. Add the softened butter and beat until light and fluffy.
- Decorate the cupcakes. For our first design, using a serrated knife to cut off the top of the cupcakes and cut each top in half. Spread a little icing on the cupcake and arrange the two cake halves to form wings. For the second design, cut two slices of a strawberry for the wings and use the offcuts to form the butterfly’s body. Place the cupcakes in our cupcake wrappers and optionally sprinkle the cupcakes with icing sugar.
Storage and shelf life of the butterfly cupcakes
The cupcakes keep fresh for 3 days in the fridge. Allow coming to room temperature before enjoying them.
Free Printable Cupcake Wrapper
Click on the button to download your free printable cupcake wrappers!
