Christmas tree cupcakes

Who doesn’t love mud cake? This delicious Christmas tree cupcake version will look fantastic on your party table. Make them with the kids for some festive fun.

Ingredients

1 pkt Betty Crocker Chocolate Mud Cake mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
3/4 cup (180ml) water

Buttercream icing

200g butter, softened
2 1/2 cups (380g) icing sugar mixture
Queen Pillar Box Red food colouring
2 tbsp milk
Smarties (for baubles)
Jaffas (for the tree top)

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Place cupcake liners in a 12-cup muffin/cupcake baking tray.

Using a mixer, prepare the cake mix with the eggs, oil and water according to the directions. Place 1/3 cup of batter in each cupcake liner and bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until it is pale and fluffy.

Gradually beat in the icing mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Add red food colouring gradually until you have your desired colour.

Beat in the milk at the end to thin the mixture. You will notice it makes the icing puff up.

Using a flat nozzle, fill a piping bag with the buttercream icing. Place a cupcake on a small plate and hold the nozzle flat side down on the edge of a cupcake and pipe to create ruffles for the tree base. Spin the plate as you go and make your circle smaller until you come to a peak. Decorate the remaining cupcakes.

Add Smarties and a Jaffa to the top of each tree.

Find related sweet Christmas recipes

Serving Suggestions

Note

You may need to practise making the ruffles with the icing but it’s not that hard once you do it a couple of times.
You don’t have to make red trees, of course – try green, white or whichever colour takes your fancy!
This recipe was created by Jennifer Cheung for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder.