Ingredients:

150g caster sugar

150g butter, at room temperature

1tsp vanilla extract

3 medium eggs

130g self-raising flour

20g cornflour

2tbsp milk

100g butter, at room temperature

250g icing sugar

½tsp vanilla extract

2tsp milk Method

500g white ready-to-roll icing

2tsp gum tragacanth

blue food coloring paste

Scalloped cookie cutter (68mm)

Wavy cookie cutter (65mm)

Plain round cookie cutter (58mm)

Alphabet cutter

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C/320°F/Gas Mark 3. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Beat the sugar and butter with the vanilla extract until light and fluffy (about 5 mins). Add 1 egg, 1/3 of the flour and cornflour and 1/3 of the milk. Beat until just combined then repeat twice more until all the eggs, flour and milk have been added.

2. Divide the batter between the 12 cases and bake for 20-25 mins. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

3. To make the buttercream, place the icing sugar, butter and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Mix with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes until soft, smooth and creamy, adding a little milk only if the mixture is too stiff. Trim the tops off the cakes if necessary to level and spread over the buttercream making it as flat as possible.

4. To decorate, knead a little blue food colouring into 200g of the white ready-to-roll icing. Using 20g of blue icing and 20g of white, divided each piece into 2 and roll into long thin sausages. Lay the 4 sausages side-by-side, alternating blue and white. Using a rolling pin roll over the white and blue sausages so they stick together making a ribbon. Cut the ribbon into 12 pieces and fold each piece in half to make a 'v' shape (these will be the ribbons on the rosette). Snip the ends and use a cocktail stick to curl the ends slightly. If you have a stitch effect tool you can emboss the sides but it's not essential. Leave to dry on greaseproof paper.

5. Roll the remaining white icing quite thinly (2mm) and cut 12 scalloped circles using the cutter and place on top of the iced cupcakes.

6. With a brush of water, stick the ribbons to one edge of the scalloped circles

7. Using the blue icing, roll to 2mm thick and cut out 12 wavy circles sticking them on top of the ribbon to hold it in place.

8. Using the rest of the white icing cut 12 plain circles and stick them in the center of the blue wavy circles.

9. Using the remainder of the blue icing roll to 2mm thick and cut out the letters for your chosen message.

10. Brush them with a drop of water to stick in place. For a ‘full stop’ just roll a tiny ball of blue fondant and stick in place with a brush of water.

Bon Appetit!