Description
These festive Christmas Tree Cupcakes are a delightful holiday treat featuring a moist vanilla cake base, decorated with green buttercream frosting piped in a swirl to resemble a Christmas tree. Twizzler Pull ‘n’ Peel candy strings act as a charming tree skirt, topped with colorful rainbow and star-shaped sprinkles, and optionally dusted with confectioners’ sugar for a snowy effect. Perfect for holiday parties and celebrations.
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 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Decoration Ingredients
- 16 oz. green buttercream frosting
- ¼ cup sequin-style rainbow sprinkles
- 2–3 Twizzler Pull ‘n’ Peel Candy, peeled into strings
- Star-shaped sprinkles
- Confectioners sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Muffin Tin: Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside to ensure easy cupcake removal later.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set this mixture aside for incorporation with the wet ingredients.
- Cream Butter and Sugar, Add Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking to combine. Then pour in the milk and vanilla extract, whisking until the mixture is smooth.
- Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures: Gradually add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl, mixing gently until you achieve a smooth, uniform batter without overmixing.
- Fill Cupcake Liners: Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full to allow room for rising during baking.
- Bake Cupcakes: Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool Cupcakes: Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely in the tin to prevent the frosting from melting when applied.
- Pipe Buttercream Frosting: Fill a piping bag fitted with an open star tip with the green buttercream frosting. Begin by piping a small quarter-size circle in the center of each cupcake. Then, starting from the outer edge, swirl the frosting inward in overlapping layers to mimic the shape of a Christmas tree. At the top, push the tip down and quickly pull up to create a pointed tree tip.
- Add Twizzler Tree Skirt: Take a length of peeled Twizzler Pull ‘n’ Peel candy string and wrap it around the base of the frosted cupcake to represent a festive tree skirt.
- Decorate with Sprinkles: Sprinkle sequin-style rainbow sprinkles across the frosting and place a star-shaped sprinkle at the peak of the tree.
- Optional Snow Effect: Lightly dust powdered sugar over the cupcakes to give a snowy appearance, enhancing the holiday theme.
Notes
- If you do not have a piping bag or cake decorating tool, you can use a ziplock baggie by cutting a small hole in one corner for piping the frosting.
- Make sure cupcakes are fully cooled before frosting to prevent the buttercream from melting.
- You can substitute rainbow sprinkles with any preferred color scheme to match your holiday decor.
- For a dairy-free version, use dairy-free butter and milk alternatives.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 65mg
