Santacakes
Santacakes
There will be Santacakes from The Chocolate Goddess for all good girls and boys for Christmas this year. Imagine a multitude of yummy Santa cupcakes on the dessert table – way better than a visions of sugarplums. No one can deny the joy a cupcake brings to old and young alike and a cupcake dressed up like Santa Claus is a real Christmas treat.
Making these cupcakes can be a fun family project. The cupcake wrappers were obtained from Big Dot of Happiness online. Locally you can get cupcake papers from Party City or Michael's. Try to get foil lined but if you can’t just add an extra clean cupcake paper once they are baked.
The dreamy cupcake is chocolate fudge and Santa has a beard of swirled white chocolate buttercream with a big scoop of frosting for his head. He has nose that really is a cherry, two little chocolate chips for eyes and a strawberry for a hat. He is a right jolly old elf!
The Chocolate Goddess Wishes You a Joyous Holiday Season
And A Happy and Healthy New Year!
Happy Baking!
Fudge Cupcake
Dry Ingredients
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
Wet Ingredients
¾ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons white vinegar
¾ cup room temperature butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs lightly whisked
¾ cup boiling water
Makes 24 cupcakes
White Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
This frosts and creates the Santa heads, so a generous amount is needed
4 ounces Ghirardelli® White Chocolate
1 ½ pounds of Unsalted Butter (6 sticks)
2 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract (if possible)
3 boxes Powdered Sugar
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
24 Red Ripe Strawberries
1 can of Betty Crocker White Cupcake Decorator Icing
48 Nestle Chocolate Chips for eyes
24 Glazed Cherries or Glazed Cherry Halves
Instructions
Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
Fill 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners
Add vinegar to whole milk and set aside.
Sift together dry ingredients:N flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, salt and baking soda in a bowl, set aside
Cream room temperature butter.
Add brown sugar and vanilla to butter, incorporate well.
Mix in eggs.
On medium speed alternately add dry ingredients and reserved milk and vinegar combination to the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs.
Add boiling water and beat on high one minute.
Fill cupcake liners ¾ full.
Bake 16 – 18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake.
Let sit on wire racks 5 minutes and remove cupcakes from tins to prevent further baking.
Frost once fully cooled.
Frosting
Melt chopped white chocolate. Leave a spoonful aside and melt on low power slowly, stirring at 30 second intervals. (Be patient, you do not want your chocolate to seize up.) When it is almost melted add spoonful of reserved chocolate and mix until all is smooth.
Cream butter.
Add vanilla.
Add white chocolate.
Add powdered sugar.
Beat until creamy.
Very slowly, add heavy cream until a somewhat stiff, but smooth consistency is achieved. You want this frosting to hold its shape.
Santacake Assembly
Leaving the cupcake wrapper on, place in cardboard Santa Coat. If you weren’t able to get these, use a Santa cupcake paper as a liner and place inside a second, clean liner after baking.
Pipe several swirls for a beard or frost cupcake with a swirling motion to duplicate a beard.
Use an ice cream scoop and place a dollop of buttercream for Santa's head on top of the swirls.
Add two chocolate chips for eyes and a glazed cherry for a nose.
Cut off the tops of strawberries and place on Santa's head flat side down.
Using the decorator icing, pipe a mustache and decorate around base of strawberry to resemble fur and apply a dollop on top of strawberry hat for a pom pom.
