Cupcakes are the perfect treat for any occasion. First of all, they are individually-sized and so much more convenient than cutting and handling pieces of cake. And secondly, they are also easy to decorate for any festive or special event. Making them can provide a fun morning in the kitchen for you by yourself, with your favourite holiday music playing, or with friends and family.
You can purchase a cake mix from the supermarket or use your own favourite recipe. You will need muffin tins for 12 cupcakes, and it’s a good idea to have two, in case you find a recipe that makes 18 or 24. Using liners makes clean up easy and is convenient for serving. They can be purchased to complement the theme. Why not try two flavours, say one chocolate and one vanilla, and then add a spoonful of each. If you use an ice cream scoop you will get uniform sizes and you are also less likely to drip batter.
After the cupcakes are baked, allow to cool before frosting. Here’s another opportunity to be creative! Take a container of vanilla icing – your own or purchased, and divide it into four bowls. Then decorate each with different colours – red and green for starters - and sprinkle with tiny chocolate bits or coloured Christmasy decorations, available at your supermarket. Be careful with the food colouring as a drop or two goes a long way. Before you put on the icing, you can add a surprise by cutting carefully into the top of the cupcake and inserting a filling such as jam or whipped cream. The icing will cover up the knife mark.
A Christmas cupcake tree can be made by putting green icing on all but four cupcakes, then frost the rest with brown which will make a trunk. Arrange the green cupcakes in a triangular tree pattern on a rectangular pattern. Go one step further and buy red licorice for garlands and other candies such as peppermints for “decorations” on your tree. Shredded coconut will give the appearance of snow.
To make reindeer cupcakes, use chocolate icing and then purchase candies for facial features and break up pretzels for antlers. For a snowman, use white icing, place a single cupcake on individual plates, and add a large marshmallow for the snowman’s chest and a miniature marshmallow for his head. Use a toothpick to hold them together. Hold assorted candies in place with a small amount of white icing. Or try cupcakes decorated in a variety of colours to look like a present, using red licorice as bows and setting a name tag by each.
Baking cupcakes is one job that can be done up ahead of time and frozen, but wrap each one individually in plastic and then store in freezer bags to ensure maximum freshness. This needs to be done before putting on any icing. If unexpected guests come by, frozen cupcakes thaw quickly and if you keep a spare can of icing in the pantry, you can frost them in seconds to serve with hot chocolate or cider.
Cupcakes are valuable other times of the year in addition to Christmas. Small children can handle cupcakes more easily than slices of birthday cake, and many people who are nutrition-conscious will appreciate the smaller serving as well. You can even buy mini-cupcake pans and please those who only want one bite, but you will have to adjust the baking time. It’s best to experiment on your close friends or family before trying this for an elegant dinner party when you are trying to impress your new in-laws or the boss!
Get innovative and design your own cupcakes for your family and friends. They represent a chance to be really creative. Why not make a grocery list today to try some this weekend and enjoy some fun time in the kitchen.
