Treat your friends and family to these adorable Christmas Snowman Cupcakes! With flavours of red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting, they taste as amazing as they look.
About these Christmas Snowman Cupcakes
- Flavour. Expect chocolate and vanilla flavours in the sponge, combined with the sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
- Texture. The red velvet sponge is super soft and moist, whilst the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Appearance. I mean, how CUTE are these little snowmen!? I won’t lie I had a few melting snowmen decorating fails but couldn’t be happier with how these ones turned out. I think the 3D carrot nose and chocolate twig arms is what makes them super special.
- Recipe difficulty. I’d probably put these Christmas Snowman Cupcakes in the “requires a little effort” recipe category. The snowmen aren’t difficult to make (see details on this below), but red velvet sponge does call for quite a few ingredients, a little time, and a lot of mixing bowls! Trust me though, they’re worth the extra effort.
How to make a Christmas Snowman
There are 3 decorating elements to the snowmen: the head, the body and the arms. Here’s how to make each part:
- The head:
- Face: Use a medium sized white marshmallow for the face.
- Carrot nose: Roll a tiny piece of orange fondant into a cone shape with a flat base. Leave the carrot noses uncovered at room temperature so they can dry out and harden. Then use a dab of icing or edible glue to stick the nose onto the marshmallow.
- Eyes and mouth: Use chocolate writing icing to dot two eyes and a mouth onto the marshmallow.
- The body: Use a large round piping nozzle to pipe a blob of cream cheese frosting onto the cupcakes. Then add 3 edible sprinkles for the buttons.
- The arms: Snap a Chocolate Mikado stick in two and push them into the frosting.
3 tips for making Christmas Snowman Cupcakes
- Use a red gel paste for the cupcakes. There are 3 main types of food colouring: liquid dye, liquid gel and gel pastes. For bright red cupcakes, you’ll want to use a gel paste to colour the cake mixture. Gel pastes come in a little pot and are much more concentrated than other types of colourings, meaning they will achieve a brighter, stronger colour. For these cupcakes I used Sugarflair Extra Red. Start by adding a small amount and build up the colour bit by bit, just bear in mind that the colour will darken once the cupcakes are baked.
- Use cold cream cheese for the frosting. This is my no.1 tip when it comes to making cream cheese frosting. Keep the cream cheese in the fridge and take it out just before you need to add it. Keeping it cold will make sure it stays thick and holds its shape when added to the buttercream.
- Make sure the carrot noses are dry. Once you’ve shaped the noses, leave them to dry out and harden for about 15-20 minutes before sticking them to the marshmallow. Otherwise, if the sugar paste is still soft, the orange colour will leak onto the marshmallow.
Quick links to equipment & ingredients
Christmas Snowman Cupcakes
Treat your friends and family to these adorable Christmas Snowman Cupcakes! With flavours of red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting, they taste as amazing as they look.
Ingredients
Red velvet cupcakes
- 100 g Stork margarine or unsalted butter if using unsalted butter make sure it's at room temperature
- 150 g White caster sugar
- 2 large Eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 180 g Self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp Cocoa powder
- 200 ml Buttermilk
- 1 tsp White wine vinegar
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Red gel food colouring recommend using Sugarflair Red Extra
Cream cheese frosting
- 150 g Unsalted butter soft at room temperature
- 300 g Icing sugar
- 150 g Full-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese cold from the fridge
For the snowmen
- 12 White marshmallows
- Chocolate writing icing
- Orange fondant/sugar paste
- Chocolate Mikado Sticks
- Edible sprinkles for the buttons
- Edible glue or icing
Instructions
Start by making the red velvet cupcakes
- Beat the margarine/butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder and buttermilk and fold the mixture together until smooth and combined.
- Add the red gel food colouring until the mixture reaches the desired colour.
- In a separate small bowl, stir the white wine vinegar and bicarbonate of soda together, then quickly fold it into the cake mixture.
- Divide the cake mixture between 12 cupcake cases, filling each one about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the snowmen heads
- Use your finger to roll a tiny piece of orange fondant into a cone shape with a flat base. Repeat this until you have 12 noses. Leave them to dry and harden at room temperature.
- Once dry, use a dab of edible glue or icing to stick the nose onto the marshmallow. Hold it in place for a minute or so until it sticks.
- Use the chocolate writing icing to dot the eyes and mouth onto each marshmallow.
Now make the cream cheese frosting
- Beat the butter until really soft and pale in colour.
- Sift in the icing sugar and beat again until smooth.
- Now take the cream cheese out of the fridge and add it into the bowl. Gently fold the cream cheese into the frosting until smooth. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can quickly become runny.
- Fit a piping bag with a large round nozzle and snip off the tip. Spoon the cream cheese frosting into the piping bag.
Assemble the snowmen
- Pipe a blob of cream cheese frosting onto the cupcakes for the body.
- Place the snowmen heads on top.
- Snap a Mikado stick in half and push them into the buttercream for the arms.
- Place 3 sprinkles onto the body for the buttons.
Notes
Store your Christmas Snowman Cupcakes in the fridge for up to 3 days.Â
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