Holiday Cupcake Tree

I'm so excited to share this cupcake tree with all of you!  I love cupcakes and I really love Christmas, so creating a Christmas tree out of cupcakes is almost too much for me to handle!  Mini cupcakes decorated with buttercream, gumdrops, and of course a bit of sparkle, give the tree a really fun look.  It is a great project for all skill levels,  and also makes a fabulous centerpiece for holiday parties.
When I first thought of this, I couldn't wait to make it!  I started out making my vanilla cupcakes and attached them to a styrofoam tree using toothpicks.  Next I colored my buttercream by using green and brown food coloring to achieve that classic Christmas tree color.  Using a star tip, I piped the buttercream on all the cupcakes.  I used more toothpicks to attach gumdrops to the tree to look like lights, and fill in the gaps.  I added some more candy and stars made out of fondant to add more detail.  The last thing I did was cover a star in gold disco dust for the top of the tree.  You had to know the disco dust was coming!  There are endless possibilities when it comes to decorating this tree, and it's a wonderful project for kids to get involved in.  I hope you make a cupcake tree this season. Enjoy the video!



What you'll need

• 65 -70 mini cupcakes
• 1 batch buttercream
• green and brown food coloring
• styrofoam tree - The one I use is 3 7/8 in x 14 7/8 in
• toothpicks
• gumdrops, assorted candy
• gold dragees
• fondant, star cutter, and gold disco dust for the star
• pastry bag & star tip ( #825)

1. Skewer frozen cupcake on tree. They are easier to work with when frozen.
2. Pipe green buttercream on the cupcakes.
3. Using toothpicks, wedge gumdrops on tree wherever there are gaps.
4. Decorate with assorted candy & dragees.
5. Dust a fondant star with gold disco dust. Once it dries place it on top of the tree.

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1t. vanilla bean paste
• 3 cups cake flour
• 1t. salt
• 3/4t. baking powder
• 3/4t. baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter & sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Add egg yolks & vanilla bean paste.
4. Sift dries together.  Alternate adding dries with sour cream .  Always start and end with your dries.  Set batter aside.
5. In a clean bowl, whip egg whites and sugar until stiff.
6. Gently fold whites into the batter in 3 additions.
7. Line cupcake tins with liners, and fill them 3/4 of the way with batter.
8. Bake approx. 10 minutes rotating once halfway through.
9. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, freeze them till ready to use.

Cupcake Buttercream

• 2 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
• 4 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1t. vanilla extract
• green and brown food coloring

1. Cream butter and powdered sugar.  Add 1 cup at a time on low speed so you don't have a powdered sugar shower in your kitchen!  
2. Add vanilla extract.
3. Add green food coloring and a few drops of brown to achieve that Christmas tree color.