Ingredients
Scale
For the Cupcakes:
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste/extract
- 3 tablespoons elderflower syrup or cordial, plus an additional 2 tablespoons for brushing on the cupcakes
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 (8-oz) block cream cheese, at room temperature
- 5–6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste/extract
- 1 tablespoon elderflower syrup or cordial
- Tiny pinch of fine salt
- Sprinkles, edible flowers, and/or pearl sugar, for decorating
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla and elderflower syrup.
- Add in ⅓ of the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add in ½ of the sour cream and beat until just combined. Continue with another ⅓ of the flour, the remaining sour cream, and finish with the last ⅓ of the flour mixture. Mix until the batter is just combined, being careful to not overmix (this will result in a dense cupcake).
- Scoop or spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until they are golden around the edges and set in the middle.
- While the cupcakes are still warm, gently poke holes with a toothpick all over the tops of the cupcakes. Brush a little bit of the elderflower syrup on the tops of the cupcakes.
- Cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well combined.
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy and smooth.
- Beat in the vanilla, elderflower syrup, and a tiny pinch of salt.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired.
My easy method for decorating these:
- Scoop a few tablespoons of the frosting on the top of each cupcake (I actually use a large cookie scoop to do this). Using a butter knife or small offset spatula, smooth the blob of frosting on the sides and top, creating a little swirl if you want things to look fancy.
- Top with sprinkles and/or flowers. That’s it! So much easier than using a piping bag and tip.