This gorgeous happy birthday cupcakes make the most perfect cupcakes for the women in your life. They are completely homemade, quick and easy, and will definitely make a happy birthday celebration!
Cupcakes for Birthday - An Awesome Idea
Birthday cupcakes are a cool alternative to the normal standard cakes.
Firstly it’s easier to estimate the serving size with cupcakes (you just need to know how many guests will be there and you address that by making cupcakes in the exact same number, or maybe more if your customer requests so).
Secondly, it’s much easier to serve! There is no need for someone to cut and serve. Everyone just takes a cupcake each and help themselves!
And thirdly, there can be more than one flavor for the cupcakes as opposed to a standard cake where the flavor is limited to just one.
The only downside to birthday cupcakes, which I think why most people would still prefer standard cakes is the cake cutting part. Cutting a cake is more symbolic. With cupcakes, there is no cake cutting as it is not necessary when the cakes are already in separate casings!
Nevertheless, cupcakes are a great choice if you are looking for something out the norm for birthday cakes.
The Happy Birthday Cupcakes Design
I created this happy birthday cupcakes design for my mom’s birthday. The focus of the birthday cupcakes decoration was on the 'happy birthday' letters, so I made sure I had enough cupcakes to cater for each letter in the phrase 'Happy Birthday Mummy' and the rest were for the decoration.
I choose an overall floral theme for my mom's birthday cupcakes with main emphasis on small sugar roses in pink and yellow. The rest were with hearts design as well as simple white filler flowers in buttercream.
These happy birthday cupcakes were a slight variation from the norm as we normally have large cakes for birthdays. So when I presented the cupcakes at the party, they immediately became a huge hit. The kids were particularly excited with the cupcakes, choosing over their favorite letters and designs on the cupcakes.
How to Make Pretty Floral Happy Birthday Cupcakes
Here is what I used to come up with this happy birthday cupcake design:
- Cupcakes – I made a total of 34 cupcakes. I counted that I would need 18 just for the phrase “Happy Birthday Mummy”. The rest of the cupcakes were decorated to match the floral theme I decided on. Since there were a lot of cupcakes, I baked them in 2 different flavors – I used my vanilla pound cake recipe for cupcakes with the phrase “Happy Birthday Mummy”, the rest were baked using my chocolate cupcake recipe.
- Buttercream and fondant – I covered each cupcake with a thin layer of buttercream and covered them with fondant circles cut out using my scalloped round cutter. I also used buttercream to pipe the letters, white flowers, green scrolls, the heart shapes, and leaves.
Gumpaste – I used gum paste to make the pink and yellow roses. These were not wired as I placed them directly on the cupcakes and did not want to risk anyone biting into any wire.
- Piping tips #224, #3, #2, #352
- Disposable piping bags
- Alphabet press set
- Round scallop cutter
- Food coloring in white, burgundy and green.
Making the gum paste roses
- 8 cupcakes in this 'Happy Birthday Cupcakes' set were decorated with gum paste roses. 4 cupcakes had one full bloom pink rose each, while the remaining 4 were decorated with rose buds in pink and yellow. Each cupcake had 3 rose buds on them.
- The gum paste roses on the cupcakes can be prepared a few days in advance. In fact, it is advisable to prepare them in advance so that they have enough time to set.
- I have a full tutorial on how to make gum paste roses and you can read all about how to make the roses here. While the tutorial focuses on making large roses, you only need to make small one for these cupcakes.
Baking the birthday cupcakes
- I used a total of 34 cupcakes for this birthday cupcakes design. The number of cupcakes you get from the recipe below is very much depended on the size of your cupcake casings. I made 2 batches of cupcakes, one in vanilla flavor and the other in chocolate flavor. All the 'happy birthday mummy' letters were on vanilla cupcakes, while the rest of the rose cupcakes, buttercream flower cupcakes and the heart cupcakes were in chocolate flavor.
- I used small cupcake casings in gold foil. In making these cupcakes, I made sure I had extras for contingency too.
- Once the cupcakes were baked and completely cooled down, I covered them with a thin layer of buttercream.
- And then I rolled and cut out white fondant circles with a round scalloped cutter. The buttercream layer on the cupcakes help to hold these fondant cutouts in place.
The 'happy birthday mummy' lettering on the birthday cupcakes
- For the first 18 cupcakes (which held the lettering for the phrase 'Happy Birthday Mummy'), I did not attach the fondant cut outs onto the cupcakes first. In fact, I did the letters embossing before attaching them.
- I embossed each circle with the letters using Wilton alphabet embossers. I then placed the cutouts on the chocolate cupcakes. Using some maroon buttercream, I piped the letters (with round tip #2) guided by the embossed letter marks.
- For the balance 16 chocolate cupcakes, I repeated the process – I cut out 16 circles, and placed them on the buttercream covered cupcakes. This time, however, I did not decorate the circles first. The intention is to decorate them after placing them on the cupcakes.
The white buttercream flowers and green buttercream scrolls
- A total of 4 cupcakes in the 'Happy Birthday Cupcakes' set were decorated with simple white buttercream flowers with maroon centers and green scrolls.
- The flowers were piped in white buttercream with tip #224 while the flower centers and scrolls were piped with round tip #3.
The buttercream hearts design
- The buttercream heart piping was done free hand. I used pink tinted buttercream with round piping tip #3 to pipe them.
- Once all the decoration was completed, I arranged the birthday cupcakes on a large board in the order as shown in the full image above.
- I used a large gold foil-covered cake board to hold the cupcakes. The board was about 18 inches in diameter and was large enough to hold all the 34 cupcakes. The gold cake board matched the gold foil liners I used for these 'Happy Birthday' cupcakes.
And that’s how I decorated the happy birthday cupcakes for my mom.
Hope you enjoyed this cupcake idea!
Like this Happy Birthday Cupcakes idea? Here are my other posts you might want to check out:
- Elegant Birthday Cake for My Elegant Mom - How to Make
- Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday Cake - A Decorating Tutorial
- Timmy Time Birthday Cake for 1st Birthday
- Chocolate Heart Cookies for Valentine's Day
- Mini Heart Shaped Cakes with Pink Rosettes - How to Make
Recipe (Printable)
Here is the full printable recipe and decorating guide for my happy birthday cupcakes:
📖Recipe
Happy Birthday Cupcakes
This gorgeous happy birthday cupcakes make the most perfect cupcakes for a woman. They are completely homemade, quick and easy.
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Yield: 34 cupcakes
Equipment
- Piping tips #224, #3, #2, #352
- Disposable piping bags
- Alphabet press set
- Round scallop cutter
- Food coloring in white, maroon and green.
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 120 g self-raising flour
- 120 g castor sugar
- 120 g butter at room temperature
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 30 ml milk
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ teaspoon vanilla essence
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 120 g butter
- 75 g castor sugar
- 25 g brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100 g self-raising flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoon milk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla essence
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
Buttercream Frosting
- 300 g icing sugar sifted
- 150 g butter salted
- 1 tablespoon milk optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 170 °Celsius. Prepare the cupcake casings.
- Beat butter and sugar till soft and creamy for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.
- Finally, add in vanilla essence and combine well. Pour batter into the prepared cup casings. Bake for 15 minutes until the top of the cupcakes spring back when pressed lightly. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes should come out without any wet batter sticking to it.
- Remove the cupcakes from oven and let them cool completely before icing and decorating.
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 170°Celsius. Prepare the cupcake casings.
- Beat butter and both sugars till light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.
- Add in the vanilla essence and mix well.
- Pour batter into the cupcake casings until they are about two thirds full. Sprinkle about ½ teaspoon for chocolate sprinkles on top of the cupcakes batter.
- Bake the chocolate cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the size of the casing you use) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out without any wet batter sticking to it.
- Remove the cupcakes from oven and let them cool completely before decorating.
Buttercream
- To make the buttercream frosting, place butter in a large bowl. Beat until creamy.
- Add the sifted icing sugar and continue to beat until the icing turns light and fluffy. Add the vanilla essence and beat again until the vanilla is well incorporated. If the icing is too stiff, add some milk and beat again.
Frosting the cupcakes
- Once the cupcakes are baked and have completely cooled down, cover them with a thin layer of buttercream. Set aside.
- Roll and cut out white fondant circles with a round scalloped cutter.
The alphabets
- For the first 18 fondant cut outs, emboss the letters H-A-P-P-Y-B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y-M-U-M-M-Y onto them. And then attach them to the vanilla cupcakes. Using some maroon buttercream, pipe the letters (with round tip #2) guided by the embossed letter marks.
- Attach the remaining fondant cut outs (without any decoration or embossing) onto the chocolate cupcakes.
The gum paste roses
- Make the gum paste roses and buds at least one day in advance to allow them sufficient time to set. Follow the link in the Equipment list above for the tutorial on how to make gum paste roses. You will need 5 full bloom roses in pink, 3 buds in pink and 6 buds in yellow. Attach all the 5 full bloom pink roses onto one cupcake each (5 cupcakes). For the buds, attach 3 buds to one cupcake (3 cupcakes).
- Pipe some green leaves on the sides of the roses and buds.
The white buttercream flowers and green buttercream scrolls
- Decorate 4 cupcakes with clusters of white buttercream drop flowers piping using tip #224. Pipe maroon dots for the flower centers and complete the design with green scrolls on the sides with tip#3.
The buttercream hearts design
- With maroon buttercream and piping tip #3, pipe the buttercream hearts, free hand, on 4 cupcakes.
Arranging the cupcakes
- Once all the decoration is complete, arrange the birthday cupcakes on a large board.
- I used a large gold foil-covered cake board to hold the cupcakes. The board was about 18 inches in diameter and was large enough to hold all the 34 cupcakes. The gold cake board matched the gold foil liners I used for these ‘Happy Birthday’ cupcakes.
Nutrition
Calories: 183kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.1g | Protein: 1.8g | Fat: 10.2g | Saturated Fat: 6.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.7g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 44.2mg | Sodium: 123.2mg | Potassium: 35.5mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 16.6g | Vitamin A: 319.7IU | Calcium: 15.5mg | Iron: 0.3mg
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And that's that. My pretty and easy Happy Birthday Cupcakes recipe and tutorial.
Happy decorating 🙂
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