Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• 150g Caster Sugar
• 150g Soft Butter
• 3 Eggs
• 150g Self-raising Flour
• 1tsp Of Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Rose Water
• 1/2 Tin Of Lychees Diced (See Chef Notes)

• 225g Soft Unsalted Butter
• 540g Sifted Icing Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Of Rose Water
• A Few Spoons Of The Lychee Puree To Taste
• Optional Food Colouring (See Chef Notes)

Tools

• kMix Stand Mixer

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan and line a cupcake tin with white cases.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until super light and fluffy.
3. Slowly add the eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition.
4. Gently incorporate the flour and baking powder. DO NOT OVERMIX.
5. Fold in the rose water and diced lychee.
6. Spoon into cupcake cases (approx. 50g per case) and bake for 15-18 minutes.
7. When they come out of the oven, brush each cake with a little of the syrup (do not soak, just brush a little to glaze).
8. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
9. To make the buttercream, first blitz the left-over lychees and approx.100ml of the lychee syrup into a puree.
10. To make the buttercream, beat the butter until light and fluffy, slowly add the icing sugar in 3-4 parts, beating well in between each addition.
11. Add the rose water and 2-3 tbsp of the lychee puree and mix well.
12. Decorate with rose petals.

Chef's Notes:

1. Reserve the syrup and other half of the tin for the buttercream.
2. I used claret and dusky pink food colouring.
3. The excess lychee puree is the perfect addition to a cocktail.