Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite new cupcake recipes. I know, I know. I refer to quite a few of my recipes as “my new favorite…” – but, it’s true! These peach-filled spring cupcakes are a culmination of all the baking tips and tricks I’ve been learning over the years. And, now, you can make them, too!

First, we create super-light white cupcakes using the reverse-creaming method, a technique pioneered by culinary masters like Rose Levy Beranbaum and New York’s famed Magnolia Bakery.

Reverse-creaming refers to a process where all of the dry cake ingredients (flour, sugar, etc.) are combined first. Then, you beat the butter in to coat the dry ingredients, protecting them from tough gluten-formation. Finally, you mix in the remaining wet ingredients. By coating all of the mixed dry ingredients in the fat (instead of first creaming the butter with the sugar) your cake results in an ultra-tender, velvety-fine crumb. *heart-eyes*

Then, I’ll show you how to make a delicious peach jam with which to fill the centers of these cupcakes, if you so choose. I’ve created this recipe with the jam, and without – both options are equally delicious, it just depends on what you’re in the mood for!

Finally, as the pièce de résistance, I share my recipe for the BEST American buttercream ever – here’s a hint: we spike it with a good splash of Brandy. Oh my word, this stuff is delicious. You’re going to love it!

Plus, it’s a very stable, crusting buttercream, perfect for piping flowers, rosettes, and other pretty designs. Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this post, where I’ll show you my favorite piping techniques to create a fun and whimsical spring design.

So, without further ado, let’s get started on our peach-filled spring cupcakes!

Colorful spring piped cupcake set, featuring peach jam filled Magnolia bakery-style cupcakes, topped with gold luster dust and Brandy buttercream flowers!

Gather Your Baking Tools

Before getting started, make sure you have the proper kitchen equipment for this bake! I’ve included item links (affiliate) for easy shopping and reference!

Cupcake tins (2) and liners
Stand or hand-held mixer
Small- and medium-sized mixing bowls
Medium-sized saucepan
Cutting board and knife
Spoon and silicone spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Wire cooling rack
Piping bag, tips (listed below), and coupler set like this
Food coloring gel (I use and reference Americolor Food Gels)
Toothpicks
Optional: edible pearls, sprinkles/jimmies
Optional: gold luster dust, clear food-grade alcohol, and food-safe paint brushes

Peach-Filled Spring Cupcakes & Brandy Buttercream (Recipe)

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

Peach-Filled Spring Cupcakes with Brandy Buttercream Flowers

These light and velvety white cupcakes are filled with a delicious peach jam and topped with the most flavorful Brandy buttercream!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword American buttercream, brandy, Brandy buttercream, buttercream, cupcake, cupcakes, peach

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Decorating Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

White Cupcakes

1½ cups self-rising flour
1¼ cups cake flour
1 cup softened, room-temp butter
2 cups white sugar
4 large room-temp eggs
1 cup room-temp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
⅛ tsp nutmeg

Peach Jam

2 large peaches
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Brandy American Buttercream

1½ cup softened, room-temp butter
6 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
2-4 tsp Brandy (to taste)
2-4 tsp whole milk (to thin, if necessary)

Instructions

White Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and prepare the muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Add the flours, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to your mixer bowl, and mix for a minute to thoroughly combine.
Cut the softened butter into inch-sized pieces. As the mixer is running on low, add the butter pieces one at a time, mixing until the consistency resembles wet sand.
To the mixer bowl, add the vanilla and half of the milk, combining for a minute. Then, pour in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the remainder of the milk. Let the mixture continue beating for 1-2 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
Portion the cupcake batter into the prepared cupcake tins, and bake for 20-25 minutes. At the 20-minute mark, check the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Bake just until no crumbs remain on the toothpick. Use caution not to overbake the cupcakes.
Quickly but carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan and let them cool fully on a wire rack before filling and frosting.

Peach Jam (optional)

Peel and dice the peaches.
Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Use a spoon to mash the peaches gently, if they aren't very ripe. Let it simmer until it starts to bubble – at that point, let it bubble for another minute or so until thickened.
Pour the peach jam into a shallow dish to allow it to cool fully, before coring the cupcakes with a narrow spoon. Then, add some jam inside of each. Press the removed cupcake core pieces back on top of the cupcake over the hole to seal the jam inside.

Brandy American Buttercream

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened butter, adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping the sides down in between each addition.
Flavor the buttercream with salt and a few teaspoons of Brandy. Mix to combine, taste, and add more Brandy if you'd like. I like adding all 4 teaspoons.
If your buttercream is too thick, thin it out with a few teaspoons of whole milk.
Separate the buttercream into as many bowls as colors with which you'd like to decorate. Dip a toothpick into the gel colors and transfer that color to the buttercream. Mix, and repeat the process until the desired color is achieved. Remember, you can always add more color – but it's very difficult to correct buttercream that's gone too dark.
Here's the breakdown of colors I used:
Sage Green: One part Royal Blue + Two parts Ivory
Light Blue: Two parts Royal Blue + One part Plum
Lavender: Soft Pink + Plum
Orange: Soft Pink + Electric Yellow + Super Red
Red: Two parts Super Red + One part Plum
Fit your piping bags with the couplers by screwing off the top piece, inserting the base into the bag, cutting off the tip of the bag, and screwing the top back on. Fill the piping bags with your buttercream colors.
To create a multi-colored swirl, add multiple colors to the same piping bag with a very thin offset spatula.
Choose your first piping tips, and attach them to the bags by unscrewing the top of the coupler, placing the base of the tip on the piping bag, and screwing the top of the coupler back over the tip.
Then, begin to pipe your decorations on top of the cupcakes. Check out my diagram below for a better understanding of which tip pipes what.
Rosettes: To create the swirly-looking roses (called rosettes) use a drop flower tip, like Wilton's 2D. Start the piping in the center and move in a circular direction, releasing pressure to stop once you've completed a full rotation.
Stars: For the ridge-filled stars, use an open star tip, like Wilton's 4B (large) or 32 (small). Simply apply a small amount of pressure, push the bag down slightly, and release pressure while pulling up.
Small Petal Flowers: The small, five-petaled flowers are created using a drop-flower tip, like Wilton's 107. Utilize the same, quick piping method as the stars to simply "drop" a flower on the cupcake.
Waves/Ribbon Design: To create a back-and-forth ribbon shape, use a petal tip, like Wilton's 104. With the narrow end of the tip pointed up, and the fat end on the cupcake, start piping at the farther end of the cupcake. Slowly pull the tip towards you, "snaking" the tip back and forth to create a soft zig-zag design.
To add some gold sparkle to the cupcakes, place them in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, until the buttercream starts to harden. In the meantime, add a small splash of clear, food-grade alcohol to a small cup, and add a pinch of the gold luster dust to it. Use a paintbrush to "paint" gold onto the chosen areas of your cupcakes. Let dry. Add sprinkles, if you like.
The cupcakes can sit at room temperature for two days, covered. After that, pop them into the refrigerator for another two, or freeze them for up to three months.

Piping References & Decorating Tips

Here are the tips I used to create my Peach-Filled Spring Cupcake design, and a corresponding visual guide!

2D – Large Drop-Flower Tip
4B & 32 – Large & Small Open Star Tips
107 – Small Drop-Flower Tip
104 – Petal Tip

Here are the color mixtures I used to create this springy palette. Feel free to check out my coloring-mixing reel on Instagram!

Guide To Fitting a Piping Bag with Couplers and Tips:

Check out the video in this post around minute 1:15 for a visual explanation of fitting a piping bag with a coupler and tip. I also have an easy piping bag/coupler diagram photo in this post, too!

More Floral Piping Ideas:

Check out my Wintery Square Cake or my Fall Floral Butterfly Cake for more piping ideas, guides, and techniques that you can create from buttercream and a few simple piping tips!

Even More Cake-Decorating Information:

If you liked this post, but crave even more instruction, good news: soon, I’ll be rolling out an exclusive baking and decorating master class set! Full of real-time, hands-on video tutorials and detailed baking/decorating instructions, these classes will build more thoroughly on basic baking knowledge. You can go from novice to a novelty-in-trade! Stay tuned, and be sure to enter your email below to receive a notification when my courses are released!

Enjoy Your Peach-Filled Spring Cupcakes!

I hope you love, love, LOVE these cupcakes as much as I do. Trust me – you’re going to want to eat the whole batch.

Don’t forget to find me on Instagram so we can keep in touch, and be sure to tag me in any photos you post of your cupcake designs! I love to see your works of culinary art.

And, enter your email below to receive notification of my next blog post like this one. You don’t want to miss it!

Take care guys! Until next time…

XOXO

P.S.

See my privacy policy for the full Amazon Affiliate disclosure. Profits earned from affiliate commissions help to keep this site running, so that I can continue to bring great content to awesome readers, like you! If you would like, you can still support by clicking through this link and making any other purchases you need. 🙂