Unicorn Cupcakes

Pre heat the oven to 180°C. Line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cases.

Make the Madeira cake mix following the on pack instructions. Add 2 tbsp of batter to each case, filling roughly half the case, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Using a skewer, test that the cakes are cooked, then allow to cool.

Put aside 250g of the ready to roll icing. Using the remainder, roll out to a thickness of approximately half a centimetre. Sprinkle the work surface with icing sugar to ensure this won’t stick, then cut out circles roughly the same size as the cupcake. Top each cupcake with a layer of icing.

Keep all the trimmings as they can be re-kneaded and re-rolled. Place the remaining icing into a mixing bowl. Using a cocktail stick, gradually add a little pink food colouring and knead together until a pastel pink colour is achieved.

Using the white icing trimmings and some of the pink icing, mould the unicorn ears. Roll out both colours with a dusting of icing sugar to 3mm thick. Use a knife to cut small teardrop shapes out of the white icing. Repeat this using the pink icing, making teardrops half the size of the white. Using a pastry brush and some water, stick the pink teardrop onto the white and pinch at the bottom, then leave these to harden a little. You’ll need to make 24 ears.

Use the remaining pink and white icing to mould the unicorn horns. Roll a thin sausage shape of both white and pink icing, pinch the ends together and spiral one around the other to get the effect of a horn showing both colours. Mould the cone approximately 2-3cm tall and leave to harden a little. Cut a 45-degree angle at the base of the horn so that it sits at 45 degrees to the cupcake top. You’ll need to Make 12 horns using 24 pink and white strips.

Apply the decorative ears and horn to the cupcakes using a little brush and some water.

In a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate until smooth. Add to a sealed piping bag with no nozzle and snip a small opening on the tip. Pipe a crescent shape for the eyelids and use a cocktail stick to flick out some eyelashes.

In a large mixing bowl add the softened butter at room temperature, and gradually mix in the icing sugar to make a basic buttercream, adding the milk to help bring it together.

Divide this roughly into two bowls, mixing in the pink and yellow food colouring into each until pastel shades are achieved. Roughly, add the two coloured buttercreams to one piping bag with a small star nozzle, to achieve a random mix of colours throughout.

Pipe small flowers in front of the horn and ears, when piping squeeze and then pull directly up to create a peak.