Vanilla Cupcakes with Christmas Tree Toppers
You can also use a box cake mix and canned frosting. Easy AND super cute!
Ingredients:
Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 6)
1 large egg
⅓ cup white sugar
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt a small pinch
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
Christmas Trees
6 Pretzel Sticks
1 cup candy melts
Sprinkles of choice
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Line the 6 middle cavities of a regular-sized muffin tin with muffin papers.
3. In a medium bowl using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the egg and sugar for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is very pale in color and has increased in volume.
4. Sprinkle the flour, baking powder and salt over the eggs and gently whisk in the dry ingredients.
5. Add the butter and milk to a liquid measuring cup. Microwave in 30-second increments until the butter is melted. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
6. Whisk the warm milk mixture into the batter until smooth.
7. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners filling each about ⅔ full. You should end up with 6 cupcakes.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until the tops look set and are slightly firm/springy to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and continue cooling on a cooling rack.
Frosting
1. In a small bowl, beat the butter until smooth.
2. Add in the salt and vanilla extract. Starting with the mixer on low speed, beat in 1 cup powdered sugar.
3. Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, alternating with a tablespoon of milk or cream until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached. Optionally, mix in a few drops of food coloring.
4. Either frost the cupcakes with a knife, or transfer the frosting to a piping bag and frost. I used a piping bag and a 1M tip.
Christmas Trees
1. Melt candy melts according to package directions and transfer into a piping bag or freezer bag and cut off a small tip.
2. Lay parchment paper onto smooth surface
3. Lay out 6 pretzel sticks about 3 inches apart
4. Pipe candy melts starting from the top of the pretzel. Go back and forth over the pretzel as you’re piping down the pretzel, making sure to get more wide as you get to the bottom of the pretzel. Leave 1/2 inch to place into frosted cupcake.
5. Use sprinkles of choice on each tree
6. Top each cupcake with decorated Christmas pretzel tree
