Rose Ombre Cupcakes

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy. Add the eggs and blend until the mixture is fluffy, about three minutes.

Then add in the flour and baking powder and mix until well incorporated. Pour in the rose essence and give it a final mix.

Preheat oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Divide the batter into three portions. In the first portion, add in a drop of pink food colour and mix until the batter turns a pale pink shade.

In the second pour three drops of pink colour until the batter turns a few shades darker than the first portion. Do the same with the third portion, but add in a tad more colour to get a darker pink hue than the first two portions.

Line a cupcake tray with paper liners. First pour in two teaspoons of the darkest hued batter, followed by two teaspoons of the lighter pink batter and two more of the palest pink batter.

Repeat the same for the other cupcakes. Pop the tray into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

In the meantime, cream the butter, icing sugar, salt, rose essence and pink food colour in a bowl until the buttercream is creamy and luscious.

Once the cupcakes are baked through, leave them out to cool. Then pipe the rose buttercream onto the cupcakes and they’re ready to eat.