Candy Cane Cupcakes

I’ve gotten well and truly into the Christmas spirit over the last few days, I saw cupcakes like these on Pinterest after Christmas last year and decided that this year they would be a goer! And, of course many of you will know we had our Christmas baking class yesterday – which Melissa will fill you in on very soon. For these cupcakes I used my go to chocolate cupcake recipe for the base, the candy cane flavour and looks all comes down to the frosting, which is easier than you may think.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups flour
1 egg
½ cup milk
150g butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
½ cup boiling water

Candy Cane Buttercream
150 grams butter
3 cups icing sugar
2-4 tablespoons hot water (or room temperature milk)
1 teaspoon peppermint essence
red gel colouring
crushed candy cane to top

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C and line a 12 hole standard and mini muffin tin with cupcake papers.
Place all ingredients in a bowl EXCEPT the water. Add water last; do not mix until it is added. Beat well with an electric mixer.
Fill cupcake papers ⅔ full and bake in your pre heated oven for about 12 minutes or until they bounce back when touched or a skewer can be inserted and then removed cleanly.
Set aside to cool while you make your buttercream.
To make the frosting, cream butter in the bowl of your mixer (or with a hand held mixer) until pale and fluffy.
On a low-medium speed, add icing sugar alternating with hot water and adding peppermint.
Continue to beat until light and fluffy or until it’s reached a consistency you are happy with.
Turn your piping bag inside out and on one side ‘paint’ 3-4 stripes of red colouring to get the stripped effect of a candy cane. Fit your piping bag with whatever tip you want to use (I used a large round tip but you could use a large star shaped one like a 1M or 2D).
Fill your piping bag with your white butter cream and decorate your cupcakes as desired.

So there you have it, the first of our 2012 Christmas recipes! Has the spirit of the silly season hit you yet?