the hungry mum

Everyone loves a cute cupcake and Christmas is the best time to get all ‘squee’ with your baking.

I have been baking for friends, family and neighbours as long as I can remember and these mini Rudolph mini cupcakes are always a hit.

This year Misses 8 and 10 took over baking and decorating duties for the neighbours as I attended to last minute Christmas duties. They were gratefully received by everyone, and after delivering them the gals came home clutching a giant box of chocolates

And aren’t the tins adorable? My friend from work, Stephen, frequents op shops and always stocks up tins for me. I use them to package up baked goods.

These cakes best made on the day of serving, or you can bake then freeze the uniced cakes. Bring to room temperature before decorating.

GATHER:

1 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup marsala

125g melted, cooled butter

2 heaped tablespoons sifted cocoa

2 eggs

red M&Ms

choc bits

coloured M&Ms or choc drops for eyes

pretzels, broken in half, for antlers

LET’S DO IT:

Line 2 mini muffin tins with mini muffin wrappers, pre-heat oven to 175C.

Add all ingredients into bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed to high and beat for three minutes.

Spoon into wrappers, bake for 15-ish minutes/until a skewer instead comes out clean.

Place on wire rack. When totally cool ice with ganache {RECIPE BELOW}.

 CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

In a small saucepan over low heat melt 125g dark chocolate [broken into chunks] with 1/2 cup cream. Stir until melted, thick and glossy. Allow to stand 15 minutes until thick. Use knife to spread over cakes. Decorate the cupcakes to resemble reindeers.

Tags: baking, chocolate, Christmas, food, recipe, sugar, treat