Christmas Tree Mini Cupcakes Recipes

CHRISTMAS TREE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350˚. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Whisk the flour, malted milk powder and baking soda in a medium bowl.
• Heat the milk until hot but not boiling; pour over the cocoa powder in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla into the cocoa mixture until smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture until just combined.
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back when gently pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar on medium-low speed until smooth, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until thick and fluffy, 1 to 2 more minutes.
• Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and sprinkle with white nonpareils. Stick a candy-melt tree into the center of each cupcake.

CUPCAKE CHRISTMAS TREE

Steps:

• Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the cups of 2 to 4 mini muffin tins with paper liners (you can bake the cupcakes in batches if necessary). Mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the eggs and milk and mix until well combined. Drizzle in the oil and the vanilla and almond extracts and mix. With the mixer running at low speed, add the boiling water and mix just until smooth. Fill the lined muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake until risen and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pans. Frosting: In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk and mix until smooth. Add more milk a little at a time until the frosting is thick and spreadable. Using a flexible spatula, frost the tops of the cooled cupcakes. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before assembling the tree.
• To assemble the tree, spread a thick layer of sprinkles out on a plate. Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the sprinkles and set aside. Tie curling ribbon around the candy canes and curl with a scissor blade. One inch up from the bottom of the styrofoam cone, stick toothpicks into the cone 1 1/2 inches apart, making a circle around the cone and leaving them sticking out at least 1 inch. Place the cone on a serving platter. Make the bottom ring of cupcakes by spearing the bottom of a cupcake onto one of the toothpicks in the cone, with the frosting facing out and with the side of the cupcake resting on the plate. One inch above the tops of the first row of cupcakes, place another row of toothpicks 1 1/2 inches apart, all around the cone, positioning them so that the second row will rest between the tops of the first row. You will fit fewer cupcakes on the second row; feel free to cut a cupcake in half if necessary to fit into the space available. Spear the cupcakes onto the toothpicks as before. Continue up the cone to form a tree of cupcakes, ending with a single cupcake on top. Serve within one hour, or refrigerate up to 24 hours. Stick the candy canes in the styrofoam and stick gilded cranberries on with a little extra icing. Pour sugar on the serving platter around the tree. To gild the cranberries, roll them on the sheets of gold leaf to roughly coat.

CHRISTMAS TREE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Spoon 1/2 cup vanilla frosting into a bowl. Spread a thin layer over the top of each cupcake with a knife. Refrigerate cupcakes for 30 minutes to make decorating easier.
• Combine remaining 2 cups of vanilla frosting and green food coloring in a bowl; stir until frosting is uniformly green. Add more green food coloring, 1 drop at a time, until your frosting is the color you like.
• Transfer frosting to a piping bag. Working perpendicular to the top of each cupcake, pipe the green frosting around the edge, working inwards in a circular motion to create a tree shape. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
• Decorate Christmas trees with sprinkles, colored sugar, or candies as the "ornaments" on the trees.

CHRISTMAS TREE MINI CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease mini muffin cups or line with paper liners.
• Mix pastry flour, white sugar, and cocoa powder together in a bowl; add water, oil, and vanilla extract and blend until batter is smooth. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
• Mix frosting and green food coloring together in a bowl until evenly combined. Transfer frosting to a pipe bag or plastic bag with a snipped corner; refrigerate for 5 minutes.
• Squeeze a small amount of frosting onto the hulled side of each strawberry and place each onto a cupcake so the strawberry is in the shape of a tree. Pipe frosting onto each strawberry to look like leaves. Add candies to the "tree" to look like ornaments and place a star-shaped candy on top of each "tree".