Christmas Tree Cupcakes

These cute, Christmas tree cupcakes look just like your tree complete with fairy lights! Find out just how easy it is to make them below.

Christmas baking

One of the things I love the most about Christmas is how the magic in the air turns even the most serious of adults back into a child! It's something about the lights, music and all that chocolate which puts everyone and anyone in a good mood.

I have such fond memories of baking all sorts of festive treats during the school holidays around Christmas and I am disappointed every year when I am reminded that I have to try and squeeze all of my Christmas baking into the weekend before Christmas. Work just gets in the way doesn't it?!

Over the years, I've come up with lots of different Christmas recipes - often with the aim of making them quicker and easy to bake when time is scarce in the run up to the big day (just like this year's Naked Christmas Cake).

These cupcakes are incredibly quick to make and couldn't be simpler to decorate! All you need is some buttercream, chocolate and M&Ms! (Other sugar coated chocolate beans are available...)

Get the look

The key to getting an icing swirl that looks just like a Christmas tree is the nozzle. I use the trusty Wilton 1M to get the perfect swirl on these cupcakes. The icing is also coloured with one of the green gels from my Wilton gel food colouring set. It gives you a really bright, vivid green with the tiniest amount of gel.

You could use black writing icing for the wire of the fairy lights but I always have some dark chocolate in the cupboard so just melted this down and piped a thin string from top to bottom of the icing tree.

For the lights themselves I poked M&M's into the icing sideways at various points along the chocolate string. Don't they look fab?!

They're also so simple to decorate that even the kids can have a go.

The recipe

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Emma

These festive Christmas Tree Cupcakes are great fun to make with the kids. 

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 433.46 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the cake

• 100 grams caster sugar
• 100 grams butter
• 1 vanilla pod seeds only
• 2 eggs
• 100 grams self raising flour
• 1 pinch salt

For the decoration

• 150 grams icing sugar
• 300 grams butter
• 1 tablespoon milk
• gel food colouring green
• 5 squares dark chocolate
• 1 handful M&Ms

Instructions

 

For the cupcakes

• Begin by craming together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light, fluffy and smooth.
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition.
• Add in half the flour along with the salt and the seeds from the vanilla pod and fold in gently.
• Add in the remaining flour and fold again.
• Spoon the mixture into 12 cupcakes cases and bake in the centre of the oven for 15minutes.
• Remove the cakes from the oven when they are springy to the touch and leave to cool.

For the decoration

• Once completely cool, beat together the butter and icing sugar until smooth and creamy.
• The consistency should be soft but it should still hold its shape if piped.
• Add a little milk if the icing is too stiff (no more than 2 tablespoons).
• Stir through the green food colouring.
• Prepare an icing bag by adding in your star shaped nozzle and filling with the icing.
• Secure the end with an elastic band so none escapes.
• Starting on the outside edge, create a swirl inwards getting higher each time.
• Stop squeezing at the top of the swirl and pull away gently.
• Melt the chocolate in the micrwave using 10 second bursts and stirring each time.
• Once melted, pour into another icing bag with a small open tip.
• Pipe a swirl of icing from the tip of the "tree" downwards to form the string of lights.
• Take the M&Ms and place them at intervals along the chocolate light string.
• Poke them in sideways to give them the look of fairy light bulbs.

Nutrition

Calories: 433.46kcalCarbohydrates: 32.5gProtein: 3.16gFat: 32.98gSaturated Fat: 20.27gTrans Fat: 1.1gCholesterol: 99.43mgSodium: 255mgPotassium: 111.77mgFiber: 1.47gSugar: 23.55gVitamin A: 879.53IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 23.51mgIron: 1.61mg

Keyword butter, caster sugar, dark chocolate, eggs, icing sugar, milk, salt, self raising flour, vanilla

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More festive treats

If you like these mince pie brownies then you will love these other festive treats!