FAQs:
Can I make the cupcakes and / or the frosting ahead of time?
You can! I don't recommend freezing decorated cupcakes because the M&M color will fade with any condensation during the thawing process. But you can freezer-bag the cupcakes (or use a sealable container and cling film) and refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 4 months.
Transfer the frosting to a zip-lock bag and squeeze out the extra air, and again - refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. Allow frosting to come to room temperature before decorating.On a related note – cover any remaining cupcakes well after serving to keep them from drying out - they'll keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Recipe below - Merry Christmas, and happy baking!
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Christmas Light Cupcakes
These rich chocolate cupcakes are easy and delicious, and a bit of black gel color and some M&Ms are all you need to decorate! Grab your piping bags and M&Ms and make these fun Christmas light cupcakes!
Equipment
- 24 Cupcake liners (linked are the plain liners I usually buy, but these Christmas liners were super fun!
- 1 large piping bag + star tip (linked is a set that contains the bag & tip I used)
- 1 small piping bag + small round tip (linked is a set that contains the bag & tip I used)
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour (350g)
- 2 1/4 cup sugar (450g)
- 1 1/4 cup cocoa powder (100g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (16T/250g)
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (350mL)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 8 oz one package cream cheese, softened
- 16 Tablespoons two sticks butter, softened
- 6-7 cup powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
- 3-5 drops Black gel food color (Save & add later! I used Americolor Super Black)
Ganache filling
- 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 6 oz heavy whipping cream (¾ cups)
- 1 large bag M&Ms (you can use regular or red/green Christmas M&Ms!)
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180C) or 325 FC (160C) for a convection oven. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in bits of softened butter until it’s no longer visible in the dry ingredients and the mixture looks crumbly.
- Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
- Fill each paper 3/4 full (a large cookie scoop makes this a quick and easy process). You may find that you have some batter left over - I don't recommend over-filling the cupcake tins as they may overflow. Bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.
- The hang time while your cupcakes are cooling is a great time to make your filling and frosting!
Filling
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, you're ready to core them. There are a few ways you can do this....you can buy a cupcake corer, you can use the non-business-end of a large piping tip, or....you can do what I do and cut a cone-shaped core out with a plastic knife. Up to you. I haven't the foggiest idea why cupcake crumbs don't stick to plastic knives like they do regular knives, but the plastic knife's been working too well for me to feel the need to invest in any fancy corers.
- Pipe your ganache into your cored cupcakes – this can be done with a a squeeze bottle or piping bag. A spoon will work if you don’t have any of the above, I've just found spoons to be a little bit more difficult to work with.
Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. I recommend making it thick enough to hold its shape. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
- Remove about 1/3 cup frosting and stir in black gel color to make the Christmas light ‘wire.’
Decorating
- Transfer your frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large tip – I used a tip from my Amazon set similar to the Ateco #828. Pipe white frosting in large swirls onto your cupcakes. Transfer your black frosting to a standard size bag- I used a small round tip similar to the Wilton #2 tip. Add a swirl of black frosting to each cupcake, swirling up toward the top of the white frosting swirl.
- Now you’re ready to add your M&Ms! Add M&Ms perpendicular to the black frosting line, pushing them in at least to the halfway point so that they resemble a bulb on a string of Christmas lights!
- Step back, give yourself a high-five, and admire your adorable cupcakes!
Video
Notes
Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcakeCalories: 308kcalCarbohydrates: 31.1gProtein: 2.4gFat: 19.8g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Did you make these Christmas Light Cupcakes?
Let me know how it went - or find me on Pinterest or on Instagram and tag @IntensiveCakeUnit in your photo!
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