Christmas Tree Tear & Share Cupcakes

These Christmas Tree Tear and Share Cupcakes are so festively and delicious. I made the cupcakes vanilla with vanilla buttercream but if you want to be super festive you could make gingerbread cupcakes. Just check out the Alternatives section below.

It is only seven sleeps until Christmas and I hope you are enjoying this season as much as possible. If you have made any of my recipes to share with friends/family/colleagues then please tag me on social media or use #aspoonofvanilla so I can see all your delicious creations.

Christmas Tree Tear & Sharre Cupcakes

This cupcake tear and share is made of 12 cupcakes. If you want to make it slightly bigger then check out the alternatives section below for the increased amounts.

I used a similar recipe to my Snowball Cupcakes and Vanilla Cupcakes. I started off by creaming together the butter and sugar until it was pale and fluffy. Next, I added in the remaining ingredients and mixed until they were completely combined and smooth.

Related Posts

Christmas Tree Brownies

Gingerbread Cake

Cinnamon Rolls

You don’t want to overbeat your cupcake batter. I normally beat mine for a few minutes and once it is incorporated I stop mixing.

I use these cupcake cases from Iced Jems, they have so many pretty designs and colours, plus their Christmas Baking Cups are perfect.

To ensure, that the cupcakes are all even I use an ice cream scoop. I find this one the easiest way to ensure they are all even.

How Do I Know the Cupcakes Are Ready?

You need to bake the cupcakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown in colour. A Few other ways, you can tell if your cupcakes are ready.

You can insert a cake skewer into the thickest part of the cake. If it comes out clean then the cupcakes are ready, if there is cake batter on it then pop them back into the oven for 2-3 minutes. Repeat until the skewer comes out clean. You can also touch the top of your cupcake gently if it springs back then they are ready.

Because I use Iced Jems Baking Cups I leave them to cool fully on the baking tray. If you are using a muffin tin I would recommend leaving them in the tin for 10-15 minutes and then move them onto a wire cooling rack to completely cool.

Buttercream

While the cupcakes are cooling make the buttercream. Mix together the butter, sugar and vanilla until fully combined. If your buttercream is too thick add 1tsp of milk and stir inbetween each addition until it is the desired consistency.

You need to use unsalted butter for the buttercream. If you use Stork or another baking spread then your buttercream will be too soft and won’t hold its shape when piped onto the cupcakes.

Remove 100g of buttercream and put it into a separate bowl. Add some red food colouring a little at a time stirring in between each addition.

Remove another 100g of buttercream and put into a separate bowl. Add cocoa powder and mix until it is fully incorporated.

For the remaining buttercream add green food colouring. I always prefer to add a little at a time and stir in between each addition. That way I can gradually darken the colour whereas if you put too much in to start with then you can’t lighten it.

Add all three colours to separate piping bags and leave to one side. I use a Wilton 1M Piping Tip and these piping bags.

Decoration

Arrange your cupcakes on your board. I started with 1 at the top, the 2 underneath, then 3 and 4 on the bottom. The last 2 cupcakes put in the middle at the bottom to make the tree trunk.

Pipe the green buttercream onto the cupcakes. I found it easiest to pipe from side to side but you can pipe on any decoration  you want. I then piped the red butterream, over the top of the green buttercream, like tinsel. Finally I finished by piping the chocolate buttercream onto the two bottom cupcakes to make the trunk.

To finish off the decoration, of course, you need sprinkles. I used a combination of these XL Crispy Balls from Super Streusel and these Metallic Silver Sprinkle Mix from Iced Jems.

Equipment

Mixing Bowl

Spatula

Scales

Ice Cream Scoop

Cake Tester

Cake Board

Piping Tips

Piping Bags

I earn a small amount of money if you buy any of these products. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting A Spoonful of Vanilla.

Alternatives

To make the gingerbread cupcakes instead of adding in 1tsp of vanilla add in 2tsp of Ground Ginger, ½ tsp of Cinnamon, and 50g of Black Treacle.

If you want to increase the recipe you would need to make 19 cupcakes.

To make this I would increase the amounts to 200g of flour, sugar, and butter, 4 large eggs, 1tsp baking powder and 1tsp vanilla extract.

For the buttercream, I would increase it to 800g Icing Sugar, 400g Unsalted Butter and 1tsp Vanilla Extract.

Pin it For Later!

If you do have any questions about this Christmas Tree Tear & Share Cupcakes or any other recipes on my blog you can contact me either by sending me a DM on social media or an email. You can find all my details on the right-hand side of this page.