Cupcake Christmas Tree Recipe

This Cupcake Christmas Tree Recipe is a festive and creative recipe, which features mini chocolate cupcakes and buttercream frosting. It’s a show-stopping holiday centerpiece, ready in about 2 hours (including cooling and assembly).

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Cupcake Christmas Tree Recipe Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Buttercream Frosting

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

Tree Assembly & Decoration

• Green sprinkles or jimmies
• 1 small 11-inch styrofoam cone
• 30 to 40 toothpicks
• 10 small candy canes
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• Gold leaf (optional)
• Gold and red curling ribbon
• Sugar (for “snow”)

How To Make Cupcake Christmas Tree Recipe

1. Make the batter: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line mini muffin tins with paper liners. In a large mixer, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and almond extract; mix well. With the mixer on low, carefully pour in the boiling water and mix just until smooth. (The batter will be thin).
2. Bake the mini cupcakes: Fill the lined muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake for roughly 20 minutes, or until risen and firm to the touch. Let them cool completely in the pans.
3. Whip the buttercream: Cream the softened butter until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat until smooth, adding more milk a teaspoon at a time until the frosting is thick but spreadable.
4. Frost and chill: Frost the tops of the cooled cupcakes with a flexible spatula. Important: Refrigerate the frosted cupcakes for at least 1 hour. This hardens the frosting so it doesn’t smear during assembly.
5. Coat with sprinkles: Spread a thick layer of green sprinkles on a plate. Dip the tops of the cold, frosted cupcakes into the sprinkles to coat them completely.
6. Prepare the cone: Place the 11-inch styrofoam cone on your serving platter. Insert toothpicks into the cone about 1 inch from the bottom, spaced 1.5 inches apart, leaving about 1 inch sticking out.
7. Assemble the tree: Spear the bottom of a cupcake onto a toothpick, with the frosting facing out and the paper liner touching the cone. Complete the bottom ring. Move up 1 inch and repeat with a second row of toothpicks, staggering them between the first row. Continue this pattern up the cone, ending with a single cupcake on top.
8. Decorate: Tie curled ribbons onto candy canes and stick them into the gaps. Garnish with cranberries (rolled in gold leaf if desired) attached with a dot of icing. Sprinkle sugar around the base for snow.

Recipe Tips

• Why boiling water?: The boiling water “blooms” the cocoa powder, releasing a deeper chocolate flavor and ensuring the cupcakes stay incredibly moist.
• Structural integrity: The most critical step is refrigerating the frosted cupcakes before assembly. If the frosting is soft, the sprinkles will slide off, and the cupcakes will be messy to handle.
• Gap fillers: As you build the tree higher, you might find gaps between the cupcakes. You can cut cupcakes in half to fit tight spaces or use the candy canes and ribbons to hide the white styrofoam cone.
• The Cone: You can find styrofoam cones at Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, or even the floral section of Walmart. If you can’t find a green one, wrap a white one in green construction paper so it doesn’t show through the gaps.
• Transport: Assemble this tree on the platter you intend to serve it on. It is very top-heavy and difficult to move once fully constructed.

What To Serve With Cupcake Christmas Tree Recipe

This centerpiece pairs perfectly with other cozy holiday treats.

• Hot cocoa bar with marshmallows
• Eggnog or Mulled Wine
• Gingerbread cookies
• Savory finger foods (to balance the sugar)

How To Store Cupcake Christmas Tree Recipe

• Refrigerate: Once assembled, the tree can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. The frosting acts as a seal to keep the cake moist.
• Serve: Remove the tree from the fridge about 1 hour before serving to allow the frosting and cake to come to room temperature for the best texture.
• Leftovers: Remove cupcakes from the cone and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cupcake Christmas Tree Recipe Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 180
• Total Fat: 7g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Cholesterol: 15mg
• Sodium: 110mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 28g
• Dietary Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 22g
• Protein: 2g

Nutrition information is estimated per mini cupcake.

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