Everybody loves a cupcake, so this is a great time to make some cute Christmas tree cupcakes..
There is something so comforting about decorating a cupcake and you can decide on the design of your own choosing! Children love to make these too and get themselves into a complete mess.
These mini Christmas tree cupcakes were super easy and fun to make. All it takes is some cupcake ingredients, buttercream icing, piping bags, tips and sprinkles.
Ingredients
175g butter, softened
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line bun tins with paper cake cases. Put all the ingredients for the cupcakes in a large bowl using 4 tbsp of the orange juice, then beat together for 1-2 mins until smooth.
Spoon the cake mix into the cases, so they are three-quarters full. Bake for 15-18 mins or until golden and firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack.
You can be as creative as you like, as using a variety of icing tips can create different types of trees ! You can pipe a swirl which overlaps three times and pinch the top of the icing with your fingers to make the top look like the top of a tree (rather than a squashed tree).
For these experimental trees we used three different tips. The first one (on the left) was the 2D tip again, this time we just squeezed it until it formed a cone shape. It is a bit messy but if you don’t have a lot of time this is the way to go, as it is the fastest method!
children will love to decorate these little trees
The second one (in the middle) was piped with a 101 ruffle tip. We put a fondant cone shape on top of the cupcake then piped the icing using a ruffle style.
The third cupcake (on the right) we piped using a 67 tip (leaf tip). Pipe with the open side of the tip horizontal in small squeezes, when you let go it will look a bit like a leaf. You can pinch the ends together to make it look more like a leaf. Though we really like this technique and the end design, it is difficult to get it to work well with buttercream because it is too soft.
Then of course cut out a yellow “star” for the top.
Your Christmas tree cupcakes are complete, now you can share with the children or eat them all yourself!
