Table of Contents
- Bring Spring to the Table with These Delightful Plant Pot Cupcakes – No Dirt Needed!
- Thinking about summer as I prepare these delicacies
- Chocolate Plant Pot Cupcakes with Oreo
- Modelling Paste Plants
- Moist dough for Plant Pot Cupcakes
- Celebrating My First Earnings as a Food Blogger
Bring Spring to the Table with These Delightful Plant Pot Cupcakes – No Dirt Needed!
Whilst I may be enjoying a well-earned four-day bank holiday weekend rest, this blog never sleeps. And what better way to celebrate Easter (and the start of spring) than with a recipe for some adorable little plant pot cupcakes. These charming treats, resembling tiny pots of sprouting plants, are perfect for bringing a touch of springtime cheer to your festivities.
There’s absolutely no actual dirt involved. Promise.
Thinking about summer as I prepare these delicacies
This time of year is all about getting ready for new things, and hoping that the summer sunshine won’t make us wait too long before we can get our summer dresses and beachwear out of the closet. I’m severely struggling not to start getting my holiday wardrobe together for our Southern Europe trip this summer, and there’s still almost four months to go. You’d think I’d be more concerned with packing for our impending house-move, but I’ve never been one to get my priorities in the right order, right?
Chocolate Plant Pot Cupcakes with Oreo
Sweet Summer Fun
Before I get stuck into some proper summer baking, we’d better keep things at least semi-seasonal around here and have some fun with these cute chocolate plant pot cupcakes. They’re baked in silicone flowerpot cupcake cases (AmazonUK / AmazonUSA) and topped with my favourite cocoa-flavoured chocolate buttercream.
And the soil? Well, as much as it looks like real-life dirt, it’s actually just some trusty Oreo crumbs.
Modelling Paste Plants
Believe it or not, these seedling cupcakes mark my first ever foray into modelling paste. I’ve made plenty of cute little things out of regular fondant icing before, but these little plants called for something a little more heavy-duty. I picked up some green Renshaw modelling paste from Amazon, and it worked like a charm!
Modelling paste feels much like regular ready-to-roll fondant icing, but it dries much harder. This makes it perfect for creating detailed decorations, such as the little leaves on plant pot cupcakes, which tend to droop if not properly supported.
And speaking of detailed and magical designs, if you’re a fan of themed desserts, you’ll love trying your hand at making Harry Potter themed cupcakes for that mystical touch.
Tips to Keep Your Modelling Paste Plants Fresh and Firm
To ensure your modelling paste plants hold their shape, you will want to make them a day ahead of assembling the cupcakes, as they need at least 12 hours to dry out properly.
Keep Your Cupcake Plants Fresh with This Simple Trick
One very important thing to note: even though the dry modelling paste plants will be nice and hard when you’ve left them for 12 hours, once they are in the top of your cupcakes they will soak up some moisture from the buttercream. This will result in some wilting after a day, so if you are making these for a special occasion, then don’t pop the seedlings into the buttercream until you’re ready to serve them!
Moist dough for Plant Pot Cupcakes
The chocolate cupcake batter itself is my very own tried and tested recipe, which has long been a staple of this blog. It’s the base for all of my chocolate cupcakes and is the perfect mix of soft, moist, and chocolatey.
Tips for extra moistness in every bite of your cupcakes
I’m a big fan of adding some extra moisture to cakes, whether it’s sour cream or buttermilk in my layer cakes, or yogurt in my cupcakes. I find that sour cream keeps things a bit denser than yogurt, and that’s why I use it in layer cakes, and keep the yogurt for cupcakes. The last thing you want is a dry cupcake, and adding yogurt is a great way to make sure this NEVER happens… assuming you don’t leave them in the oven too long. Nothing can save you from an overbaked cupcake.
Celebrating My First Earnings as a Food Blogger
I’ve been overwhelmed with the number of you who have been loving and pinning the hell out of my recent recipes, and it’s definitely keeping me motivated and spurring me on. Never underestimate how much a lovely comment, a pin, or a follow on X means to us bloggers.
And for the first time ever, my very own little blog is actually going to have made some money this month. Not very much money, but it’s considerably more than I ever imagined back when I started What Charlotte Baked back over two years ago. It’s all possible because of you!
Plant Pot Cupcakes Garden-Themed
Equipment
- 1 Cupcake mold
- 12 Capsules for cupcakes
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Toothpick for inserting in the middle after baking
- 1 Wire rack for cooling
- 1 Pastry bag
- 1 Food processor To crush Oreo cookies
- 1 Modeling paste
- 1 Measuring cup
Ingredients
FOR THE FONDANT SEEDLINGS
- 1 Unit Edible green modelling paste
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 150 g (5.3oz) Of high-quality dark or bittersweet chocolate (I opted for70% Lindt Excellence)
- 100 g (2/3 cup) of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 200 g (1 cup) light brown sugar
- 2 Unit Large eggs
- 75 g (1/3 cup) plain or vanilla yogurt
- 175 g (1½ cups) of plain or all-purpose flour
- 25 g (3 tablespoons) cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- ½ tbsp Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- Pinch of salt
- 240 ml (1 cup) milk
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 340 g (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 120 g (1 cup) cocoa powder
- 625 g (5 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 120 ml (½ cup) milk
- 6 Units Oreo cookies
Instructions
For the fondant seedlings
- You will need to make the seedlings at least 12 hours before assembling the finished cupcakes, as the modelling paste needs time to dry and harden. Mold the dough in your hands and form 12 small plant shapes, ensuring each has a stem long enough to be placed on top of the cupcakes. Leave them out to air-dry (I left mine overnight).
For the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 190 °C / 375 °F (170 °C fan) and line a cupcake or muffin tin with 12 food-safe plant pot cases, or just regular cupcake liners.
- Gently melt the chocolate by using a microwave or placing it in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. When melting chocolate in the microwave, it's crucial to stir it every 20 seconds to prevent burning. Set aside.
- Cream the butter using a stand or hand-held mixer, until it is pale and creamy, and has no lumps. Add the sugar and mix well.
- Incorporate the eggs individually, ensuring thorough mixing after each addition. Next, blend in the melted chocolate and yogurt until the mixture is smooth.
- Gradually add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt, stirring gently to combine without over-mixing. Finally, pour in the milk and vanilla extract, mixing gently until the batter is fully combined.
- Fill the cupcake cases ¾ full, as the cupcakes will rise when baking. Bake in the oven for 20–22 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
For the buttercream
- Cream the butter with a hand or stand mixer until it is pale and creamy, and no lumps remain.
- Combine the cocoa, powdered sugar, and milk with the butter, stirring thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and well-blended. Gather any mixture from the sides of the bowl and blend once more.
- Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle (or a disposable piping bag with the end cut off), and pipe a large blob of buttercream on top of each cupcake.
- Put the Oreo cookies in a sturdy plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin until they’re finely crumbled. Alternatively, a food processor or blender can also be used to achieve the same texture. Transfer the crumbs to a small bowl, then carefully dip the tops of each cupcake into the crumbs for coating. Make sure all the buttercream is completely covered with the 'soil', and then place the pre-made fondant seedlings into the top of each of the cakes.
