Candy Cane Cupcakes
Ingredients (Makes 10)
65g white vegetable fat or coconut oil, softened ¼tsp salt
115g caster sugar
80ml whole milk
115g self raising flour ½tsp vanilla extract 2 medium egg whites 5 sponge fingers
225g vanilla butter icing
A few salted pretzels
A few peanuts
Writing icing and mini chocolate beans, to decorate
Preheat the oven to 170°C, Fan Oven
150°, Gas Mark 3. Line 10 muffin tins with Christmas cases. Put the vegetable fat or coconut oil and sugar in a bowl and beat until soft and creamy.
Gradually whisk in the milk, flour and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until softly foaming but not too stif f, and fold into the cake mixture. Divide between the cake cases, smooth the tops and bake for 25-28min until very lightly golden and just firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
For the candy cane design, flavour the butter icing with peppermint extract. Fit a disposable piping bag with a 1.5cm plain round nozzle. Squeeze red food colour gel into a small dish and use a paint brush to paint 4 streaks of red colour inside the bag, from nozzle tip to halfway up the bag. Load half the icing into the bag and squeeze closed. Pipe a swirl of striped icing on top of 5 cakes. Repeat the process with more red colour, and the remaining icing and cakes. Decorate and ser ve in fresh cases if liked.
For the snowy reindeer, cut the sponge fingers in half. Spread the tops of the cakes thickly with icing and sit a sponge finger half on top.
Break pretzels in half and arrange on the cakes to resemble antlers, and use peanuts for ears. Decorate and ser ve.