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Chocolate Reindeer Cupcakes
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Chocolate Reindeer Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes, chocolate buttercream, cute reindeer face made from pretzels, candy eyes, chocolate buttons and red fondant
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword Cupcake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 475kcal
Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the sponge

  • 175 g Butter or baking spread unsalted
  • 175 g Caster sugar
  • 3 Eggs large
  • 1 tbsp Milk
  • 150 g Self raising flour
  • 25 g Cocoa powder
  • A pinch of Baking powder

For the buttercream

  • 150 g Butter unsalted, softened
  • 255 g Icing sugar
  • 45 g Cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ tbsp Milk

For decoration

  • 24 Pretzels
  • 12 Red fondant circles or red sweets
  • 12 Chocolate buttons
  • 24 Candy eyes

Instructions

  • If you are making the nose from fondant, do this first so they can dry and harden. Roll out your red fondant on a smooth surface dusted with icing sugar, and cut out circles using a 10mm round fondant plunger
  • Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line a cupcake tin with paper cases
  • To make the cupcakes, mix together the butter and caster sugar until smooth, ideally using an electric mixer
  • Add the eggs and milk, and whisk in
  • Add the self raising flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and whisk in gently
  • Divide the mixture between the cupcakes cases, and bake them for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Put them on a rack to cool completely
  • To make the buttercream, mix together the butter, cocoa powder and icing sugar with an electric mixer, when it starts to come together, add the milk and mix until smooth. You can add more milk if the buttercream is too stiff
  • Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake using a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle, then smooth out the top with a palette knife. Or spread it on with a spoon
  • Stick the pretzels in the top for the reindeers antlers. (The pretzels will go a little soft from contact with the buttercream after a little while, so if you're making them in advance, wait to put the pretzels in to keep their crunch!)
  • Add the candy eyes, then add the chocolate button and stick the red fondant circle on top of the button using a little buttercream to make it stick
  • Store in an airtight container in a cool place, eat leftovers within 3 days

Video

Notes

  • Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
  • I used baking spread for the cupcakes and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
  • For the reindeers antlers, you can use either a whole pretzel, chocolate matchmakers, or even melt some chocolate, pipe an antler shape onto some baking paper, let it set, then add it to the cupcake.
  • For the reindeer's eyes I used candy eyes, which are commonly available in most larger supermarkets and online. Instead, you could use some white fondant - roll it into a small ball and flatten it out a little. Then dip a cocktail stick into black food colouring and dot it into the middle of the fondant.
  • For the reindeer's nose I used some red fondant. You could also use a red sweet like a Smartie or Jelly Tot. Or you can get red sprinkles or chocoballs that would work too (Scrumptious Sprinkles do a large red choco ball that would work really well).
  • Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
  • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 255mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 846IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg