Iced Flower Cakes

For the cupcakes: heat the oven to 180°C (160° fan) 350°F gas 4. Place paper cases in a 12 hole bun tin.

Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder into a mixing bowl.

Whisk together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients until combined.

Spoon into the paper cases and bake for about 20 minutes until golden and risen. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the decoration: divide the sugarpaste in half. Knead a few drops of blue food colouring into one half until evenly coloured.

Cut off 1/4 of the white sugarpaste and knead in a few drops of yellow food colouring until evenly coloured.

Roll out half the remaining white sugarpaste thinly on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Cut out small rounds, slightly smaller than the diameter of the cakes.

Brush the tops of the cakes with a little apricot jam and attach the white sugarpaste rounds.

Roll out the blue sugarpaste and cut out rounds the same size as the white sugarpaste rounds.

Brush the white rounds with apricot jam and attach the blue sugarpaste rounds.

Roll out the remaining white sugarpaste thinly on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Cut out 8 'petals' for each cake. Mark a line down the centre of each 'petal' with a sharp knife. Attach to the blue sugarpaste with a dab of apricot jam.

Roll small pieces of the yellow sugarpaste into 12 small rounds for the centre of the 'flower' and attach in the centre of the 'petals' with a little apricot jam.