York Mint Snowflake Cupcakes

Once...I made ugly snowflake cupcakes. 

Nope, I wish I was joking! True story. Let me explain.

My first mistake was to use white frosting. Next, tried piping snowflakes with candy melts and using them as cupcake toppers. I think I overheated the candy melts a bit, because they didn't pipe well at all. I set them on an off-white stand to take pictures. Against a white background. (What was I thinking??) Anyway...I realized that the decorations just blended into the frosting! I don't think I even saved pictures, cause man. It just didn't work.

So I went back to the drawing board. I melted my next round of candy melts more carefully. I also realized lack of color contrast part of my problem. Piping snowflakes onto dark peppermint patties made the snowflakes pop, and these York Mint Snowflake Cupcakes were born! 

I know it’s not traditionally a "Christmas candy," but York mints are one of my favorite chocolate peppermint candies….and I found a way to make them Christmas-ish! Candy melt snowflakes turn York mints into the perfect Christmas cupcake toppers! Paired with a rich chocolate cupcake and easy peppermint candy filling, these cupcakes were a huge hit and definitely one I'll be making again!

I didn't think about it when I took the pictures, but a sprinkle of crushed peppermint candy would add a fun pop of color to these cupcakes too, if you're feeling fancy. Recipe below - Merry Christmas, and happy baking! 

FAQs: 

“How do I store these cupcakes?”
  • Store in a cupcake carrier or sealable container; I often put a layer of plastic wrap over the top between the container and lid for a better seal. Cupcakes will keep at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for 3-5 days as long as they're protected from drying out.

“Do I have to make the cupcakes / frosting from scratch?”
  • Absolutely not if you don't want to! You can substitute your favorite cake mix plus the ingredients the mix calls for; keep the baking pans the same! The cake layers will just be a little less rich. Substituting butter for oil, buttermilk for water, and adding an extra egg will help!

  • Store bought frosting is usually thinner than my recipe; add a 1/4 cup of extra powdered sugar at a time until you reach a consistency that is pipeable and stays in place on the cupcakes well.

(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!) 

York Mint Snowflake cupcakes (chocolate cupcake, white mint frosting, peppermint patties with snowflakes)

York Mint Snowflake Cupcakes

Sarah H
White candy melt snowflakes turn York peppermint patties into the perfect Christmas cupcake toppers!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Decorating time 15 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 cupcakes
Calories 310 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 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 (2 sticks, softened)
  • 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL)
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

Filling

  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (add to reserved frosting; see instructions)
  • ½ cup crushed peppermint candy or crushed candy canes (add to reserved frosting; see instructions)

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.
  • Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat on medium 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 a little batter left over – I don’t recommend over-filling the cupcake tins or 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. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
  • This is an excellent time to make your frosting and/or pipe your snowflake decorations!

Frosting & Filling

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add peppermint extract and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
  • Remove about ¾ c of frosting and stir an additional 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract and crushed peppermint candy in to make peppermint cupcake filling.

Decorating

  • To decorate your peppermint patties, melt down about half a bag of White candy melts and transfer them to a piping bag fitted with a small tip. Pipe three lines to make the six points of the snowflake, and then add angled lines to finish the snowflake design. (See the YouTube video below; its about 30 seconds long).
  • Once the cupcakes have cooled, you're ready to core and fill them -you can buy a cupcake corer, but you can also just do what I do and cut the centers out with a plastic knife. ;)  Pipe your peppermint filling into your cored cupcakes.
  • Transfer frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe frosting in large swirls onto your cupcakes (or however you feel like icing them).
  • Decorate the top of each frosting swirl with a decorated York mint! Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcakeCalories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 2.4gFat: 18.8g
Keyword Christmas cupcakes, Snowflake cupcakes
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Pictured: Christmas Light Cupcakes, Sprinkle Christmas Tree Cake, Christmas Cupcakes 
(Or click / tap the photos to be taken to the recipe pages!)

 

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