This Christmas was a little different this year, but it didn't stop me from wanting to make the holiday as whimsical as possible for my niece and nephew. This is the first year they really understood how magical Santa is so we made these cupcakes in his honor.
Active Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour Minutes
Yields: 12 Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
1 Cups Non-Dairy Milk (Almond, Soy, Rice)
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Flour
1/3 Heaping Cup Dark Chocolate Cocoa
1/2 Cup Crushed Candy Canes
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 Cup Unsalted Butter, room temp
1 Cup Vegetable Shortening
4 Cups Confectioners Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
3-4 Tbsp Milk
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350, line cupcake tin with cupcake liners, and set aside.
2. In a liquid measuring cup pour the "milk" and the teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and set aside.
3. Meanwhile in the bowl of the mixer, sift together all of the dry ingredients.
4. Add the "milk," oil, sugar, and vanilla and mix together until fully combined and fold in the candy canes.
5. Pour the batter into lined cupcake tins - about 3/4 full.
6. Bake the cupcakes for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
8. Meanwhile, place the vegetable shortening, butter, and vanilla into the bowl of a mixer and mix together with the paddle attachment until fully combined.
9. Add the confectioners sugar 2 cups at a time and mix on low until the mixture comes together.
10. If the buttercream is too thick, add the milk one Tbsp at a time until you reach the desired texture which is smooth, spreadable add fluffy. NOTE: I whip mine on high for 5 minutes to get a lot of air into the the buttercream. It really makes a difference!
11. Separate 3/4 of the frosting into a bowl and use red food coloring until you reach the desired color.
12. Use an plain, open piping tip for the red buttercream and pipe on the fully cooled cupcake to look like a hat.
13. Fill a second piping bag, fitted with a small star attachment, with the white buttercream and pipe around the edges and at the top to look like the white fur of Santa's cap.
14. Sprinkle sugar on top and serve.
15. Enjoy!
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