Christmas Cupcakes
User Reviews
5
Christmas Cupcakes
Description
Christmas Cupcakes begin with a vanilla batter combining all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, egg whites, sour cream, and milk for moisture and tenderness. The batter is mixed carefully and baked until springy and golden. The resulting cupcakes have a soft yet sturdy crumb ideal for holding frosting and decorations.
The accompanying vanilla buttercream is made by creaming unsalted butter with confectioners sugar, then adding vanilla, milk, cream, and salt for a fluffy texture. Dividing and tinting the frosting with red, green, and a touch of orange food coloring allows for intricate festive decorations. The piping techniques imitate wreaths, leaves, and snowmen, enhanced with sugar pearls and marshmallows. Black candy melts create fine details.
These cupcakes suit holiday celebrations and gatherings where festive treats are appreciated. The recipe allows substitutions like whole milk yogurt for sour cream, and recommends adding crushed candy canes for a minty note in the batter. The decorations can be adapted using alternative buttercreams such as Italian or Swiss meringue for less sweetness.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 200g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 1/4 tsp baking soda 1g, heaping
- 1 tsp baking powder 4g, heaping
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1g
- 3/4 cup butter 190g, room temperature, unsalted
- 3 egg white
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract 15mL
- 1/2 cup sour cream 120g
- 1/2 cup milk 118mL, whole
For the Vanilla Buttercream
- 2 lbs confectioners sugar 900g
- 1 lb butter 450g, unsalted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
- 1 tbsp heavy cream 15mL
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp milk 5mL, whole
- red food coloring
- green food coloring
- orange food coloring
- Gold sugar pearls or silver sugar pearls
- rainbow sugar pearls
- marshmallows large
- 3 tbsp Candy Melts black
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.
- In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together until incorporated. Including the sugar.
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined. (The batter may be clumpy! Do not worry!)
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.
For the Buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter. Add in the confectioners sugar in two batches.
- Now add salt, milk, cream and vanilla. Mix until fluffy.
- Separate into multiple bowls and add food coloring to create green, red, and a very small amount of orange. Transfer each color to a piping bag.
For the Assembly
- For the wreaths; pipe a white base onto your cupcake. I used an 898 tip. Use a 349 or a small leaf tip to pipe the green leaves. To make the ribbon, use a 101 or a small petal tip. You can decorate your wreath using gold or silver sugar pearls.
- For the poinsettia; Using a 70 (large leaf tip), pipe the green leaves of the flower right on to the cupcake. To pipe the red leaves, use a352 tip. Finish off by adding the tiny yellow flowers in the middle with a 3 tip (or just snip the tip off a piping bag.
- For the Christmas tree; Pipe a white base onto your cupcake. Spread a small amount of brown buttercream at the edge of your cupcake to create your tree stump. With a number 30 or medium star tip, start creating your dollops to make your tree. Use rainbow or any color sugar pearls to decorate your Christmas tree.
- For the snowman; Add a little bit of cake from the cupcakes, some buttercream, orange food coloring, and mix together. Use this to mold the noses. Start off by piping a white base. Cut off a corner of a large marshmallow and place it at the edge of your cupcake. Use black buttercream to pipe the arms, mouth, and eyes. You can add small sugar pearls for the buttons.
- For the Santa hat; pipe the hat using the red buttercream and an 808 tip. For the fur around the hat, add dollops of white buttercream with a medium star or 30 tip.
Notes
- Scuff the marshmallow surface lightly before attaching the nose to improve adhesion for the snowman decoration.
- Whole milk yogurt can replace sour cream without noticeable difference in texture or taste.
- Add crushed candy canes to the batter for a peppermint twist suited to the holidays.
- Use Italian or Swiss meringue buttercream as an alternative for a less sweet frosting option.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 18Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 300 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1g | |
| Calories | 300kcal | 15% |
| Carbohydrates | 46g | 15% |
| Protein | 3g | 6% |
| Fat | 23g | 35% |
| Saturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Cholesterol | 80mg | 27% |
| Sodium | 210mg | 9% |
| Potassium | 55mg | 1% |
| Sugar | 34g | 68% |
| Vitamin A | 600IU | 12% |
| Calcium | 30mg | 3% |
| Iron | 0.9mg | 5% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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