Christmas baking, round two! I’ve seen this decorating idea all over Pinterest and thought it was adorable. This is the last of the baking before I head to Canada (much to my partner’s dismay), but stay tuned for plenty more posts from a new kitchen for the holiday season.
I have made this chocolate cupcake recipe a few times, but this time I halved it. The cake has a dark chocolate – not too sweet – flavour, making it the perfect pairing for sweet buttercream and crunchy m&m’s.
Makes 6 cupcakes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/8 tsp. baking powder
3/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 large egg (or 1 small)
1/4 cup milk
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup boiling water
Line muffin tin and preheat oven to 350F (180C).
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder,baking soda, and salt.
Add egg, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the boiling water. This will make the batter thin.
Fill liners 2/3 full and bake 15-20 minutes.
Cool on wire racks.

Decorating:
Basic Buttercream: (for 6 cupcakes)
1/4 cup butter softened
1-2 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. milk
Beat the butter and add in the vanilla. Add 1 cup of icing sugar and beat; then add the milk. Add additional icing sugar as needed to make a creamy consistency.
Pipe using a wide-tip nozzle.
Chocolate Drizzle
I used a few squares of dark chocolate melted for the drizzle to make the Christmas light wire. *This was a bit fiddly as the chocolate kept getting stuck in the piping bag tip and coming out in blobs. I suggest getting a small tube of black decorating icing instead, if you can find it.
Use m&ms (or similar candy) for the Christmas lights!
Lovely idea 🙂