Holly Leaves Cupcakes Recipe 435

NIGELLA LAWSON CHRISTMAS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and soda, the mixed spice and salt.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in one-third of flour mixture followed by a tablespoon of the sour cream, repeating till all is used up.
• Put water, chocolate, and instant coffee in a pan and heat gently, just until the chocolate is melted. Fold this into the batter, but don't overbeat. The mixture will be very thin; "so don't worry about that," advises Nigella.
• Pour batter carefully into waiting muffin cups and put in oven for about 20 minutes. The cakes should be cooked through but still dense and damp. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then lift out carefully onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
• To ice them, make up the royal icing according to the package instructions and cover the tops of the cupcakes thickly. Cut out holly leaves from the green fondant using a small holly-leaf cutter with veining stamp . Arrange 2 leaves on each cake, then then press on the cranberries, 2 or 3 to a cake, to represent the holly berries.

HOLLY LEAVES CUPCAKES RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• Heath oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups with paper baking cups. Prepare cake mix according to package directions using water, oil and eggs. Divide evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake 19 to 23 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Frost cupcakes with white frosting. Sprinkle immediately with candy bits from frosting around edge. Fill decorating bag fitted with leaf tip half full with green frosting. Fill another decorating bag fitted with small round tip with red frosting. Pipe green frosting starting in center of cupcake, to edge of cupcake to create a leaf. Make two more leaves, one on each side. Pipe red frosting to make three dots at base of leaves for berries.