Snowy Forest Cupcakes
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(0 votes)
Difficulty:
moderate
Difficulty
Preparation:
1 hr 35 min.
Preparation
Ingredients
for
12
- For the cupcakes
- 1.333 cups self-rising flour (sifted)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup superfine caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- vanilla extract
- ⅜ cup sunflower oil
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup finely chopped Chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
- To decorate
- 1 cup white Sugar paste
- powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsps Apricot Jam (warmed)
- 1 ½ cups green Sugar paste
- Pine nuts
Preparation steps
1.
Heat the oven to 200°C (180° fan) 400°F gas 6. Place paper cases in a 12 hole muffin tin.
2.
Sift the flour and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar.
3.
Whisk together the eggs, vanilla and oil in a separate bowl until frothy, then slowly whisk in the milk.
4.
Stir into the dry ingredients until just blended. The mixture will be slightly lumpy. Gently stir in the chocolate.
5.
Spoon into the paper cases and bake for about 20 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
6.
Roll out the white sugarpaste on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Cut out 12 discs, the same diameter as the cakes.
7.
Brush the tops of the cakes with the jam and place the discs on top of the cakes, pressing lightly to attach.
8.
Take a small piece of green sugarpaste and press into a flat disc, for the base of the tree. Roll a slightly smaller piece of sugarpaste in your hands and press out into a slightly smaller thicker disc. Roll a third piece into a ball and press out into a thicker cone shape for the top of the tree.
9.
Attach the shapes together with a dab of water to form a tree shape and place on a cake, attaching with a dab of water.
10.
Repeat with the remaining green sugarpaste - you will need 3 trees for each cake.
11.
Press a pine nut into the top of each tree and sift icing sugar over the tops.
