Christmas Tree Cupcakes

I love these cupcakes. They are so simple yet so visually effective. A simple technique made to look complex and a great way to show off. 🙂

Ingredients:
150 g butter, softened
150 g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
150 g self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk

For the frosting:
200 g butter, at room temperature
250 g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk
green food colouring

To decorate:
Silver balls, sugar stars or hundreds and thousands

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light, fluffy and pale.
3. Gradually mix in the beaten egg alternating with the flour to stop the mix from curdling. Finally, stir through the vanilla extract and milk.
4. Place 12 paper cupcake cases into a muffin tin and divide the mixture between them.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
6. For the frosting: in a mixing bowl beat the butter with a spoon or spatular until smooth, then start to sift in the icing sugar, stirring regularly. Add the vanilla extract and milk. The frosting should be light and creamy.
7. Mix your green food colouring into the icing to give an even green colour.
8. Once the cupcakes are totally cool, pipe the icing onto them starting from the outside of the cake and working into the centre to create tall Christmas trees. Decorate with silver balls, stars or hundreds and thousands then allow to set for at least 30 minutes so that the icing has a slightly crispy finish.