DECEMBER 2021
PAGE 10
Christmas Tree Cupcakes From The Preppy Kitchen Rich, moist cupcakes topped with easy to make and quite festive Christmas trees made from ice cream cones, some buttercream and a dusting of powdered sugar for snow! What could be more festive than little Christmas tree cupcakes? I think they look pretty good but the surprising part was HOW EASY it was to make them! You basically just pipe little star-shaped dollops onto a sugar cone with a number 30 tip. Any small star tip will do a good job really and if you don’t have any of those just use a leaf tip! Make the cake/cupcake recipe of your choice .
Pro Tips For the BEST Christmas Tree Cupcakes • For an added surprise try adding some candy in the cone before applying it to the cupcake. Each cupcake can have a different surprise inside, no coal though!
• I like to give a really good dusting of powdered sugar “snow” to the trees for some added realism and depth. • If you don’t have a #30 tip then try any small to medium star or leaf tip to pipe the tree. • The trees can also look cute with little sugar or fondant ornaments and presents, too! I actually applied white ornaments to one tree with tweezers. It looked good but they kind of got lost in the snow. SO not worth the effort, for me at least. Hope you enjoy!! • Use an ice cream scoop to get an even amount of batter NEATLY into each cupcake paper. • You can see that the frosting applied to the cone is just a rough coat. It helps the dollops you apply adhere to the surface and prevents you from seeing any of the ice cream cone through gaps in your buttercream dollops. Just allow the cupcakes to cool fully before applying the frosting. And by the by, these are so rich and moist, you might be making them all year round! I really loved how the white frosting on the bottom looks like snow. A nice dusting of powdered sugar brings it all together. 1.
Use a knife or spatula to smooth a thin coat of buttercream to the cone. This will create a green base for the dollops and give a uniform appearance.
2.
Place the cone onto the cupcake and adjust as needed. I often add candy and chocolates to the cone and then place the cupcake on top so there’s a surprise waiting inside for the guest!
3.
Use a number 30 tip to pipe star-shaped dollops onto the surface of the cone beginning at the bottom and working to the top. 4.
Add the desired amount of snow by sifting confectioners sugar onto the cupcake and it’s ready to serve!
Merry Christmas! P. S. You can use these festive cupcakes as a center arrangement with snow, ornaments or candles.
