Unicorn surprise cupcakes

Ingredients

• mixing bowl
• 24 cupcake cases
• cupcake tins
• a piping bag and nozzle
• four eggs
• 250g caster sugar
• 390g butter
• 250g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 290g icing sugar
• one block of white regal icing
• food colourings of your choice
• decorations of your choice
• sweets – small ones work best

How to make them

1. Beat 250g of butter and the caster sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the flour to the bowl and mix well. Beat in the eggs, vanilla essence, food colouring and baking powder. Once it’s thoroughly combined, place the mixture into the cupcake cases. Bake in the oven at 180°C (gas mark four) for about 20 minutes. They should be springy to the touch and a light golden colour. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

2. To make the buttercream icing, combine the icing sugar with the remaining butter. Add a few drops of vanilla essence and a food colouring of your choice. Once mixed, place in the fridge to chill until you’re ready to use it.

3. While the cakes are cooling, you can start to make the decorations. Take the regal icing and split in half. Add a few drops of food colouring to one half, then knead the icing until the colour is evenly distributed.

4. Take a small amount of each of the pieces of icing – about the size of a large pea – and gently roll them out into two thin sausage shapes.

5. Place the rolled out icing sausages next to each other, then twist them round each other, pinching one end to form the tip of the unicorn horn. Repeat steps three and four until you have one unicorn horn per cupcake.

6. To make the ears, take the uncoloured icing and make two balls of equal size – they should each be roughly the size of a small marble.

7. Take one of the balls and, using your thumb and index finger, mould the icing into the shape of a small pony ear. Repeat until you have two ears per cupcake.

8. Once the cakes are completely cool, use a knife to cut a small circle in the top of them. Remove the top, and cut off any excess until just a small disc remains. Fill the cupcake with sweets, then place the disc back on the cake. Repeat until all the cakes are filled.

9. Remove the buttercream from the fridge and spoon into the piping bag. Swirl the icing onto the cake in a spiral, finishing with a peak in the centre.

10. Place a horn in the centre of the cake with an ear on either side, pressing them firmly in place. Then add your choice of decoration – you could even use edible glitter to add a bit of sparkle!