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Christmas Cupcakes
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Christmas Cupcakes

These rich chocolate cupcakes are easy and delicious, and a bit of gel color and maybe a few sprinkles are all you need to decorate! Grab your piping bags and a few sprinkles for a fun pop of extra color and sparkle!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Decorating time10 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Christmas cupcakes
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 325kcal
Author: Sarah H

Equipment

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
  • 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
  • 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened (16 Tablespoons, 2 sticks)
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL)
  • 2 t vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • 8 oz one package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup butter, softened softened (16 Tablespoons, 2 sticks)
  • 6-7 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-4 Tablespoons milk
  • 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter
  • 3-4 drops Green gel food color (save and use later; I used Americolor Leaf Green)
  • 3-5 drops Red gel food color (save and use later; I used Americolor Super Red)

Chocolate Ganache filling (optional)

Instructions

Cupcakes

  • Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180C) or 325 F (160C) for a convection oven. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in bits of softened butter until no lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly.
  • Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula, and beat on medium speed for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill each paper 2/3 full (using a large cookie scoop to transfer the batter 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!)

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 thin enough to pipe, but thick enough to hold its shape. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
  • Divide frosting in half – leave half white; you’ll need the most white to cover the cupcakes. Divide the remaining half into thirds, and color 2/3 green and 1/3 red.

Chocolate Ganache Filling (optional)

  • Combine chocolate and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on half power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth. Chill until thick enough to pipe (this took about 10 minutes in my freezer).
  • With a plastic knife or a cupcake corer, remove about a 1/2" core from each of your cupcakes. Fill each core with chocolate ganache - you can use a spoon, but I find a piping bag much easier and less messy.

Decorating

  • On to the fun part! Transfer your frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large tip – I used a large star tip from this set of large tips similar to Ateco's #828. Pipe white frosting in large swirls onto your cupcakes.
  • Transfer your green frosting to a standard size bag fitted with a large open star tip (similar to Wilton's 1M tip). Add a smaller circle of green frosting over the white.
  • Last, transfer your red frosting to a standard size bag fitted with a closed star – I used a tip from my set similar to the Wilton closed star / #35. Pipe small red swirls on top of the green ones.
  • Add sprinkles to your liking - I added a large colored ball to the top of each cupcake and a dusting of smaller sprinkles over the entire batch.
    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: 1cupcake | Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 29.5g | Protein: 2.4g | Fat: 18.9g