How about some pretty Chocolate cupcakes to get you through the week?
These are Chocolate cupcakes (recipe HERE) with Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting (recipe HERE), made extra special with some royal icing snowflakes. I piped on the frosting with a Wilton 1M tip (the tip I use the most often) and added some pretty sprinkles (white non-pareils and silver dragees). I colored the frosting with Americolor brand coloring, in sky blue.
The roayl icing snowflakes are pretty easy to make, and will last a very long time (stored in a airtight container). Make a nice stiff consistency batch of royal icing (recipe HERE) and pipe a snowflake shape onto a piece of parchment paper. Allow to dry completely (this will take about 1 day) before trying to remove from the paper. Be prepared… many WILL break as you try to move them from the parchment paper, so you need to make at least twice as many snowflakes as you think you want. The thicker the line of royal icing you make, and the longer you let them dry, the better your chances of avoiding breakage, but they are still very delicate, and you are bound to have some break.
Happy Cupcake Decorating!
How to Make Snowflake Cupcakes
Snowflake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa best quality available
- 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
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract best quality available
- 1 cup boiling water
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick/8 tablespoons, set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool
- 8 oz cream cheese directly from fridge
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract always use pure vanilla extract if possible
- 4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
- 1 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)
Royal Icing
- 4 tablespoons meringue powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar about 1 pound
- 6 tablespoons warm water to start
Instructions
Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
- Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute.
- Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don’t worry, this is right).
- Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)
- Bake cupcakes for approximately 18-22 minutes.
- Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until fully combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
- Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
- Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)
Royal Icing
- Beat all ingredients until stiff peaks form.
- Spoon some of the thick white icing into individual bowls and add coloring .
- Add additional water, about 1 teaspoon at a time until you’ve reached the consistency you need.
The cupcake looks beautiful! You did a great job decorating it!
i am trying to make cupcakes for a party next saturday, and dont want to be overwhelmed prior to the party. How many days in advance of the party can i make the cupcakes? Thanks
Loved these! I made 5 dozen for my daughters birthday party. I used parchment instead of wax paper and they slid off 3 hours later and I had only about 8 out of 100 snowflakes break at all. Everyone loved them! Thanks for the idea!!!
These are gorgeous!
Glory, I have never seen using squeeze bottles for icing! Love it. Is there a certain bottle that the couplers fit on? Or a certain coupler that is able to twist on a bottle? Any information that can help me find these is MUCH appreciated! Thanks!
I usally use icing bags for decorating cookies, but some people prefer icing bottles. Small bottles that work with regular couplers and tips are available from Karenscookies.net
These look amazing! Out of curiosity, where do you buy those little silver looking balls that are on the cupcakes?
The little silver balls are called dragees. Several on-line cake/cookie decorating shops will sell them. I know Fancy Flours sells them. These were a gift from a friend, since I live in California, and they are not legal to sell in California. In any other state you can buy them.
I made snowflakes the other day using melted white chocolate…….very easy and quick….., pipe onto grease proof paper, put in freezer for 5 minutes, then they just slide off…….I the store them in a plastic container in the freezer until needed!! Thanks
These are absolutely beautiful! As soon as I saw this post, I bought the meringue powder to give it a try. Unfortunately, my snowflakes ran together and I found myself making extra large snowflakes so the ends didn’t run together. Any tips on how you achieved such perfect flakes?
Hi Jessica, Sounds like the only problem was your icing was not thick/stiff enough. The icing should be as thick, or a bit thicker than traditional tube toothpaste. Also, try a smaller tip if needed. I would suggest a #2 or #1.5 tip.
o ok thank you i see it now
where is the directions ?????
The recipes are linked in the post, and the directions for the snowflakes are written in the post as well. I’m not sure what you are looking for?