Description
These festive Christmas Tree Cupcakes are perfect for holiday celebrations with their moist, fluffy cake base and beautifully piped green buttercream frosting styled like a Christmas tree. Decorated with colorful sprinkles, Twizzler candy garlands, and a star on top, they make a delightful treat and a fun project for bakers of all levels.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ tablespoon vanilla extract
Decoration Ingredients
- ¼ cup sequin-style rainbow sprinkles
- 2-3 Twizzler Pull 'n' Peel Candy, peeled into strings
- 16 oz. green buttercream frosting
- Star shaped sprinkles
- Confectioners sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside for baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, baking soda, and baking powder; set the bowl aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a medium bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and whisk thoroughly.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Pour in the milk and vanilla extract into the butter mixture and whisk to combine smoothly.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Gradually add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.
- Fill Cupcake Liners: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full to allow room for rising.
- Bake: Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool Cupcakes: Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
- Pipe Frosting: Scoop the green buttercream frosting into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. Begin by piping a quarter-size circle in the middle of each cupcake, then pipe in a swirling pattern from the outside edges inward, overlapping layers to create a tree shape. Finish by pushing down the tip and pulling up to form the tree's tip.
- Add Decorations: Wrap the Twizzler candy strings around the bottom edge of each cupcake to form a tree skirt. Sprinkle colorful rainbow sprinkles and place a star sprinkle on the top of each tree. Optionally, dust with confectioners sugar to resemble snow.
Notes
- If you don't have a piping bag or decorating tools, a ziplock bag with a small cut in the corner works well for piping frosting.
- Ensure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting to prevent the buttercream from melting.
- Use salted butter as stated for balanced flavor; if only unsalted butter is available, add a pinch of salt.
- The Twizzler Pull 'n' Peel candy strings can be substituted with licorice or candy string of choice for the garland decoration.
- For a gluten-free option, substitute the cake flour with a gluten-free flour blend designed for baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
