Description
Celebrate the holiday season with these charming Christmas Light Cupcakes, featuring soft vanilla cupcakes topped with creamy vanilla buttercream and decorated with colorful mini M&Ms and black licorice strings to mimic festive Christmas lights. Perfect for parties and festive gatherings, these cupcakes bring both delightful flavor and playful decoration to your dessert table.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup sour cream
Frosting & Decoration
- 1 batch vanilla buttercream frosting (about 3 cups)
- Black licorice strings or black gel icing (for light wire)
- Mini M&Ms or small colorful candies (for lights)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners to ensure easy removal and clean baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined to evenly distribute the leavening agents.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, which helps create a tender texture.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Incorporate the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition, then stir in the vanilla extract for flavor depth.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Mix the sour cream and whole milk into the batter until smooth to add moisture and richness.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined to avoid overmixing and tough cupcakes.
- Fill Cupcake Liners: Divide the cupcake batter evenly among the 12 liners, filling each about two-thirds full to allow space for rising.
- Bake the Cupcakes: Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, indicating doneness.
- Cool Completely: Remove cupcakes from the oven and let them cool completely in the pan before frosting to prevent melting the buttercream.
- Frost the Cupcakes: Spread a generous layer of vanilla buttercream frosting over each cooled cupcake for a smooth and creamy topping.
- Create Christmas Light Decorations: Using black licorice strings or black gel icing, pipe or lay out a wavy line across each cupcake top to resemble the wire of Christmas lights.
- Add Colorful Lights: Press mini M&Ms or small colorful candies along the licorice line to imitate festive Christmas light bulbs, and decorate as creatively as you like.
Notes
- For a fun twist, try chocolate cupcakes or flavored frosting like peppermint or chocolate.
- Add gel food coloring to the buttercream to create festive colored frostings.
- Use boxed cake mix and pre-made frosting for a quicker, easy alternative.
- Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting to avoid melting the buttercream.
- Black gel icing is a good substitute if you can’t find black licorice strings.
