December 2, 2020
Candy Cane Cupcakes!
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Delicious chocolate peppermint cupcakes with a peppermint buttercream frosting, and candy canes! The best candy cane cupcakes for the festive season!
December baking!
It is FINALLY December after one of the weirdest years ever… and it’s time for some more delicious treats. Let’s be honest, this year has been tough and I think we should all try and enjoy the festive season as much as we can, safely.
I have always adored festive baking because of the flavours, the fact that people get so much joy out of it, but this year really has seen such an increase in baking becoming a hobby that I am even more excited to share delicious recipes!
Candy cane cupcakes
One of the recipes I really wanted to share this year is my candy cane cupcakes. I LOVE the chocolate and mint combination, and candy canes are such an iconic part of the festive season, whether you actually like to eat them or not!
The main excuse of the candy cane, is the chocolate and mint flavours. Candy canes typically are mint flavoured in my opinion, and when you marry that with a delicious chocolate cupcake you get the best and cutest results ever! Just look at them!
Sponge
I decided to use a basic chocolate cupcake sponge flavoured with peppermint extract – if you don’t want the sponge minty as well though, you can just leave that out!
I tend to use medium eggs in my baking, but if you use large you can swap up the rest of the ingredients to match. I usually say medium eggs is a 150g sugar/butter/flour mix, and large eggs I use a 175g! So, if using large eggs, use 175g butter, 175g sugar, 140g flour, and 35g cocoa powder!
Chocolate mint flavour
I use the Nielsen Massey peppermint extract because it’s my favourite and the quality is the best – but you can use any you fancy! Most supermarket tend to sell the mint flavouring now but just make sure its extract and not essence!
I also use this delicious cocoa powder in all of my baking – the flavour is amazing and it’s lovely and dark in colour! I love the flavour marriage so much I have a candy cane cheesecake recipe and a chocolate peppermint cake to name a couple!
Buttercream
For the frosting I just went for a classic american buttercream frosting of unsalted block butter (not a spread), icing sugar, with peppermint extract added in! It’s lovely and white in colour and you can achieve this a few ways…
You can beat your butter on it’s own for at least five minutes – this lightens the colour a lot. You can add in a really really tiny bit of purple food colouring as this covers the yellow colouring (don’t add too much though as it will turn grey!), or you can add white food colouring such as this one!
Baking cups and piping tips
For the decoration, I used my all time favourite and best ever 2d closed star piping tip! I decided to leave some of the cupcake exposed because I wanted you to be able to see the chocolate cake from underneath, and instead made the swirls of frosting higher!
I use my favourite regular sized baking cups from Iced Jems. I love baking cups as they are neat and pretty! I tend to do a bulk order of baking cups when theres a themed baking week to do – Christmas is my favourite as I love how cute they all are!
Topping
The topping is simple – mini candy canes, and some crushed candy canes – this is optional, but is obviously the entire point of the bake!! I tend to buy the mini ones, and if I accidentally break any, they are the ones I then crush!
I really love these cupcakes, and I hope you all love them too! Any questions, leave them in the comments below – and if you have a go at the them, make sure to tag me on social media so I can see them! x
Candy Cane Cupcakes!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 125 g self raising flour
- 25 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 3 medium eggs
Buttercream
- 200 g unsalted butter (not stork)
- 400 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- White food colouring (optional!)
Extras
- 12 mini candy canes
- Crushed candy canes
Instructions
Cupcakes!
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan, and get your cupcake cases ready!
- Beat together your unsalted butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy!
- Add in your self raising flour, cocoa powder, peppermint extract and eggs, and beat until smooth and delicious!
- Split evenly between the cupcake cases, and bake in your oven for 18-22 minutes!
- Once baked, leave your cupcakes to cool fully before decorating.
Buttercream!
- Make sure your unsalted butter (not a baking spread) is at room temperature! Beat the unsalted butter on its own, for a few minutes to really loosen it and make it supple!
- Add in the peppermint extract, and the icing sugar, and beat until smooth and delicious.
- If using, add the white food colouring now. Also, only if needed, add 1-2tbsp boiling water if your frosting is too thick to loosen slightly.
Decoration!
- Pipe the peppermint buttercream frosting onto the cupcakes with your favourite piping tip!
- Sprinkle over some crushed candy canes, and add a mini candy cane to each cupcake!
Notes
- These cupcakes will last for 3+ days at room temp!
- I use these regular baking cups in all of my baking!
- I use this peppermint extract.
- I use this cocoa powder!
- If you want to use it, I recommend this white food colouring!
- I use this 2D closed star piping tip for the decoration!
- The peppermint extract is optional in the cupcake and the frosting, just makes it lovely and minty!
- If you want to make this recipe into a layer cake, I say each batch of cupcakes makes one 8"/20cm cake - bake for about 35 minutes.
ENJOY!
Find my other Recipes on my Recipes Page!
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J x
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Hello.
Amazing recipe, i will be using this to make my cupcakes for our staff feast. What is the best way to make these gluten free?
Switch the ingredients of GF alternatives! x
Hi Jane;
Would I be ok to this recipe without the cocoa powder?
You would need to add in more flour to substitute it, but it works yes!
I love this recipe. I find your recipes easy to follow and they always turn out well. My family love them.
Do the candy canes last ok on the tops or do they go sticky once touching the icing?
Eventually they will go sticky x
Can you freeze the cupcakes (before icing) if you want to prepare well in advance?
Yes absolutely you can! These can be frozen for up to 3 months. Hope this helps! x
Thanks for sharing, these cupcakes look lovely 🙂
Hi Jane, where do you get your candy canes from?
Thanks x
These particular ones were from Flying Tiger, but you can find them in most supermarkets in the festive aisles!
I love love love your recipes and so do my family, but my buttercream is always soft and doesn’t pipe very well, is there anything I can do to help/stop this. Many thanks sophie
What butter do you use?
Can you use any other sugar if you don’t have light brown sugar? Thanks x
Caster sugar or golden caster sugar!