Festive Friends Mini Cupcakes

These Festive Friends Mini Cupcakes are all about capturing the magic of Christmas in a bite-sized treat. The soft and fluffy sponge is flavoured with warm cinnamon and fragrant vanilla, it’s topped with a dreamy swirl of white chocolate cream cheese frosting that looks like freshly fallen snow. Snowflake sprinkles and a Milkybar Festive Friend bring a jolly decorative finish to these adorable cupcakes!

This recipe is created in partnership with Milkybar. I only recommend products that I personally love, use and trust!

Your Ingredients List

Here’s everything you’ll need to bake up these Festive Friends Mini Cupcakes:

• Baking spread (e.g. Stork): Ensures a light and fluffy texture for your sponge.
• Caster sugar: Adds sweetness and helps achieve a tender crumb.
• Vanilla extract: Enhances the flavour and balances the spices.
• Eggs: Provides structure and keeps the sponge moist.
• Self-raising flour: Binds the sponge together and gives them a perfect rise.
• Baking powder: Adds an extra lift for those mini cakes.
• Ground cinnamon: Brings that warm, festive flavour.
• Milk: Loosens the mixture for a smoother mix and richer flavour.
• Full-fat cream cheese: Creates a thick, creamy, tangy frosting that’s not overly sweet.
• Milkybar Sharing Bar: Adds a silky white chocolate flavour to the frosting that’s simply irresistible.
• Milkybar Festive Friends: The cutest topper to spread some Christmas joy.
• Snowflake sprinkles: Adds a magical, snowy touch.

Making The Mini Cinnamon Cupcakes

Start by lining a mini cupcake tin with mini cases. To make the mixture, cream the baking spread, sugar and vanilla together. Beat in the eggs and then fold in the dry ingredients and milk to make a smooth cake mixture.

The easiest way to fill the cases is to use a piping bag. Simply spoon the mixture into a large piping bag and snip off the end. Fill each case just over halfway and bake for 12-15 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Whip Up the 2-Ingredient White Chocolate Frosting

This is the easiest frosting you will ever make! You need just two ingredients: cream cheese and Milkybar white chocolate. First, whisk room-temperature cream cheese until smooth. To melt the white chocolate, give this mess-free hack a try. Place the wrapped bar in a dish and pour boiling water on top. Leave to melt for a few minutes, then sip off the corner and squeeze into the bowl of cream cheese. Whisk to combine and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Decorating these Festive Friends Mini Cupcakes

There are three parts to decorating these mini cupcakes:

1. Pipe the frosting: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe swirls onto the cupcakes.
2. Top with Festive Friends: Unwrap the Milkybar Festive Friends and place one on top of each cupcake.
3. Add the sprinkles: Dot snowflake sprinkles on the frosting for a wintery finish.

Festive Friends Mini Cupcakes

These Festive Friends Mini Cupcakes are all about capturing the magic of Christmas in a bite-sized treat. The soft and fluffy sponge is flavoured with warm cinnamon and fragrant vanilla, it’s topped with a dreamy swirl of white chocolate cream cheese frosting that looks like freshly fallen snow. Snowflake sprinkles and a Milkybar Festive Friend bring a jolly decorative finish to these adorable cupcakes!

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Prep: 30 minutes minutes

Cook: 12 minutes minutes

Total: 42 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Ingredients

• 120 grams Baking spread I used Stork
• 120 grams caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 medium eggs room temperature
• 120 grams self-raising flour
• 0.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon milk

For the white chocolate frosting:

• 200 grams full-fat cream cheese room temperature
• 90g MILKYBAR sharing bar

For the decoration:

• 24 MILKYBAR Festive Friends pieces
• Snowflake sprinkles

Instructions

Start by making the mini cinnamon cupcakes:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional and line a mini cupcake baking tin with 24 mini cases (or bake in two batches of 12).
• Cream the baking spread, caster sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined (it helps to add a tablespoon of the flour to stop the mixture from curdling).
• Add the rest of the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and milk and fold to combine.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the cases, filling each one just over halfway. Bake for 12-15 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Make the white chocolate frosting:

• First whisk the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• Place the wrapped Milkybar in a baking dish or container. Pour boiling water on top until the bar is fully submerged and leave to melt (takes a couple of minutes).
• Snip off the corner of the wrapper and squeeze the melted MILKYBAR into the bowl of cream cheese, then whisk to combine. Be careful not to overmix otherwise the frosting will loosen too much. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Decorate the cupcakes:

• Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe swirls of frosting on top of the mini cupcakes, starting from the middle and spiralling outwards.
• Finish by decorating with snowflake sprinkles and place the Milkybar Festive Friends on top.