Christmas Tree Cupcakes #SecretRecipeClub

With an extra Monday in November, Secret Recipe Club is back with a special reveal day.  Since Thanksgiving (in the US at least) was this past week, we can start focusing on Christmas!  So today’s special is all about the Christmas treats!

For today’s reveal, I was assigned Helen’s blog, Casa Costello.  Helen is a mom of 3 girls.  She cooks so many delicious meals and treats!  Plus, she decorates cakes!  This was a match made in heaven!

For the special holiday reveal, I chose a cupcake design/tutorial rather than a recipe, but they’re super cute, so maybe you’ll forgive me?

To make the cupcakes, I used some leftover pink batter from another cake project plus some cake top trimmings (cut into stars) from another cake project (it was a busy weekend!)

So here’s how it goes.  Bake a shallow layer of cake and then cut it into stars with a small cookie cutter (I used some trimmings I had left over from leveling a cake).

Then, place a little bit of batter into a cupcake liner.  Press the stars into the liner, top with more batter and bake!  Then it’s just the decorating!  

Here’s a little process shot (that’s chocolate MM Fondant getting ready to be a tree.)

Thank you Helen, for some totally adorable Christmas Tree Cupcakes!

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Adapted from Casa Costello

Cupcakes

Cake, baked in a thin (½ - 1 inch) layer

Cake batter (in a different color or complementary flavor)

Decorations

White buttercream frosting

White or clear chunky sprinkles

Marshmallow Fondant (regular or chocolate)

Green buttercream frosting

Christmas colored nonpareils

Small star sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Cut stars out of the thin cake layer using a small star cookie cutter.

Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.  Add a bit of cake batter to the bottom of each liner.  Press a star (standing up) into the batter, then top with additional batter.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool.

Once cooled, I find it helpful to lightly draw a line on the bottom of the liner showing the position of the star (for cutting later).

Lightly frost each cupcake with white buttercream, it does not need to be perfectly smooth.

Place the sprinkles in a small bowl.  Press the tops of the cupcakes into the sprinkles to coat.

Roll a small knob of fondant into a conical shape and place in the center of the cupcake.

Fit a piping bag with a #16 tip and load with green butter cream.  Starting at the bottom of the fondant cone, begin piping the frosting, working up in a circle until you reach the peak. 

Sprinkle the tree with nonpareils and add a small star at the top.

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