Frosted Floral Cupcakes

For the cupcakes: heat the oven to 180°C (160°fan) 350°F gas 4. Place paper cases in 24 mini muffin or cupcake tins.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs until well blended.

Sift in the flour and fold in gently until just combined.

Spoon into the tins and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the topping: whisk together the flour and milk. Heat in a small pan over medium heat, whisking continuously until it starts to thicken. Continue cooking, whisking all the time until thick. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.

Beat the butter and the sugar with an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Continue whisking for 5-10 minutes until thick and very smooth.

Spoon into a piping bag and pipe swirls on top of the cakes.

For the flowers: tint pieces of white sugarpaste as desired, by kneading a few drops of chosen colouring into each piece until evenly coloured. Reserve some white sugarpaste for the centres.

Roll out the remaining sugarpastes separately on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Cut out small flowers with flower cutters.

Roll small balls of the reserved white sugarpaste and attach to the centres of the flowers with a dab of water. Carefully place the flowers on the cakes.