Hydrangea Cupcakes

Hydrangea bushes are in full bloom all over my neighborhood right now.  I love all varieties of hydrangeas, but my favorite is this traditional shaped, blue-purple color.  I picked a few this weekend and brought them inside as inspiration for cupcakes.  I’ve seen cupcakes that resembled hydrangea flowers before, but I’ve never given it a try.  It was much easier than I’d imagined and I was very happy with the results!

Hydrangea Cupcakes

~ Directions ~

I made a batch of my favorite chocolate cupcakes and delicious vanilla cream cheese frosting.  Then I colored half of the frosting blue, and half purple (mixing a few shades of blues and purples to get a good color match to the real hydrangeas).  When making the frosting, use very little cream (less than 1 tablespoon), because the coloring will add some liquid, and you need the frosting to be pretty stiff to hold a nice shape.

If you’d like to match other hydrangeas, you could certainly use other color options, like light blue and medium blue, or two shades of pink.  But I do think that frosting these with two colors (instead of just one) really added to the effect.

I filled my piping bag with the two colors of frosting, side by side.  Once your bag is filled (1/2 to 2/3 full), you may want to just squeeze some frosting into a bowl, until you see both colors coming out.

Then, using a Wilton 2D tip (a large closed star tip), I piped large, loose star shapes around the edge of the cupcake, and then filled in the center.  If the frosting starts getting too soft (no longer holds a nice shape), then put the whole bag of frosting in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to let the frosting to firm up a bit.

Now I want to plan a pretty tea party just so I can make these again!

How to Make Hydrangea Cupcakes

Hydrangea Cupcakes

Classic chocolate cupcakes topped with hydrangea colored frosting.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 22 minutes mins

Total Time 52 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24

Calories 302 kcal

Ingredients

 

Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa best quality available
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract best quality available
• 1 cup boiling water

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

• ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick/8 Tablespoons, set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool
• 8 oz cream cheese directly from fridge
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract always use pure vanilla extract if possible
• 4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
• 1 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)

Instructions

 

Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

• Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute.
• Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don’t worry, this is right).
• Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)
• Bake cupcakes for approximately 18-22 minutes.
• Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

• Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until fully combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
• Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
• Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
• Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
• Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

Frosting the Cupcakes

• Color half of the frosting blue, and half purple (mixing a few shades of blues and purples to get a good color match to the real hydrangeas). (When making the frosting, use very little cream (less than 1 tablespoon), because the coloring will add some liquid, and you need the frosting to be pretty stiff to hold a nice shape.)
• Fill your piping bag with the two colors of frosting, side by side. Once your bag is filled (1/2 to 2/3 full), you may want to just squeeze some frosting into a bowl, until you see both colors coming out.
• Then, using a Wilton 2D tip (a large closed star tip), pipe large, loose star shapes around the edge of the cupcake, and then fill in the center. Repeat for all cupcakes.

Notes

If the frosting starts getting too soft (no longer holds a nice shape), then put the whole bag of frosting in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to let the frosting to firm up a bit.

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 234mgPotassium: 82mgFiber: 1gSugar: 37gVitamin A: 291IUCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg

Keyword hydrangea cupcakes

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