Could these be the cutest, most delicious Rudolph Cupcakes Ever? Triple chocolate cupcakes that include a chocolate oil based sponge and creamy chocolate buttercream that is then dipped into a pool of dark chocolate. This indulgent cupcake is then decorated in full festive style with pretzel antlers, edible eyes and that all important red nose.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
Cute, delicious and festive | Rudolph might be the cutest of all the Christmas characters and these cupcakes don’t disappoint. They’re full of rich chocolate flavour and can be decorated with or without the chocolate dipped shell (but personally we think this is the best bit)
Fun for all the family | Baking at Christmas is a great fun family activity and these cupcakes are perfect for getting everyone involved. From the piping, to the dipping to the decorating all the family can play their part in putting these together.
Great for parties and gifting | Their adorable design makes these cupcakes great for showing off at parties but they’re also such a fantastic gift idea. You can purchase individual cupcake boxes so a batch of 12 cupcakes will easily gift 12 lucky recipients.
HOW TO MAKE THESE RUDOLPH CUPCAKES
These cupcakes are incredibly easy to make but there are a few steps that should be followed to ensure they work perfectly.
Pipe the buttercream | The first step once you’ve baked the cupcakes is to get the creamy buttercream piped. The buttercream should be firm but nice and pliable so I like to add a splash of milk to mine once its all been incorporated to make sure it’s super creamy.
When it comes to piping tips my favourite for these kinds of cupcakes is an open star nozzle as it creates really detailed groves which come to life once the cupcakes are dipped in chocolate later on.
Time to Chill | Not you, the cupcakes. Before you do any dipping, it’s important to chill the cupcakes, or more importantly the buttercream so that it’s nice and firm. The chocolate you dip it into, although cooled will be warm so if the buttercream isn’t chilled when dipped, you may find it just slips off the cupcake.
Temper the chocolate | To get the best shine out of the chocolate I advise tempering it. It sounds complicated but really tempering chocolate is very straight forward. Simply melt down 3/4 of the chocolate in a microwave or a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. The once that’s completely melted down, remove the bowl from the heat and immediately add the remaining 1/4. Stir it through gently until that chocolate has melted and you should be left with a beautiful shiny chocolate. This also helps cool the chocolate down a little.
Get dipping | Once the cupcakes have been chilled and the chocolate has cooled a little its time to get dipping. Pour the chocolate into a wide glass (wide enough to fit the cupcake into) and then simply tip the cupcake upside down and dip the buttercream into it right down so it’s all being coated.
Decorate immediately | Because the cupcakes are already cold you will notice that the chocolate begins to set quite quickly so I advise working on one cupcake at a time and getting all decorations in place before it sets.
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE RUDOLPH CUPCAKES
Standing mixer or Hand whisk
Mixing bowls
12 hole Cupcake tin
Cupcake cases (I like red for these but choose your preferred colour)
Piping Bag
Open star piping nozzle
Edible eyes
Shop these tools
OTHER CHRISTMAS CUPCAKES YOU CAN BAKE
I would love it if you tagged me @mykitchendrawer on Instagram if you make these Rudolph Cupcakes. It’s the biggest honour to see my recipes come to life in your kitchen and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message or let’s chat in the comments. Happy baking!
Rudolph Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes
- 100 g plain flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 100 g golden caster sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 80 ml vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 120 ml buttermilk or sour cream
For the Chocolate Buttercream
- 250 g icing sugar
- 400 g butter softened
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
To decorate
- 200 g Dark Chocolate melted
- 24 edible eyes
- 12 pretzels halved
- 12 red Smarties or M&Ms
Instructions
For the chocolate cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a 12 hole cupcake tray with cupcake cases
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until well combined then leave to one side.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together both sugars with the eggs and oil and mix until combined well.
- Add half the dry mixture into the wet mixture and fold it together. Add the buttermilk then add the remaining dry mixture and fold through again until just combined. Be careful not to over mix, you only want to mix until you can no longer see any flour bits.
- Spoon or pour the mixture to fill the cupcake cases half way. Be careful not to over fill the cases as this could cause them to rise too high and over flow.
- Give the cupcake tin a tap on the work surface to remove any big air bubbles then bake in the centre of the oven for 19-21 minutes until well risen and springy to touch. When baked leave the cupcakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes, the remove and leave them to cool on a wire rack.
For the chocolate buttercream
- In a medium bowl, add the butter and beat it to soften a little
- Add the icing sugar and cocoa powder gradually until it all comes together. Keep beating until its light and creamy. Add a splash of milk if you think it feels too stiff and beat that through well.
To decorate
- Fit a piping bag with a open star piping nozzle and fill it with the chocolate buttercream. Pipe generous swirls on top of each cupcake then put the cupcakes in the fridge or freezer until the buttercream is hard.
- Melt 150g of the chocolate down gently in a microwave or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Then remove from the heat and add in the remaining 50g and stir that through until completely melted. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then pour it into a wide and deep container such as a short glass or mug. Anything that is wide enough for the cupcake it dip completely into.
- Remove the cupcakes from the fridge or freezer, then take one cupcake and dip the buttercream into the chocolate all the way until its fully coated.
- As the buttercream has been chilled the chocolate will begin to set quickly so work one cupcake at a time and decorate immediately with halved pretzels for antlers, two edible eyes and a red nose to finish.
- Serve immediately or keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
