Description
A festive and easy-to-make dessert featuring vanilla or chocolate cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting and fresh strawberries arranged to look like Santa hats.
Ingredients
- 1 batch prepared vanilla or chocolate cupcakes (from scratch or box mix)
- 1 batch prepared buttercream frosting (white, or tinted red for Santa’s hat)
- 1-2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
- Optional: Red food coloring (if tinting frosting)
- Optional: Decorating sugar for sparkle
Instructions
- Prepare your favorite vanilla or chocolate cupcakes according to recipe or package directions. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Prepare your buttercream frosting. If you want a red hat, tint a portion of the frosting red with food coloring. Keep a small amount of white frosting aside for the ‘pom-pom’ and ‘brim’ of the hat.
- Once cupcakes are cool, spread or pipe a generous amount of white frosting onto each cupcake to create the ‘brim’ of Santa’s hat. You can use a piping bag with a round tip for a neat circle, or just spread with an offset spatula.
- Carefully slice the hulled strawberries in half lengthwise if they are very large, or leave whole if they are smaller. Place a strawberry, cut-side down, on top of the white frosting, positioning it like Santa’s hat.
- Using the white frosting (or a little red frosting if you chose that color for the hat), pipe a small dollop onto the tip of each strawberry to create the ‘pom-pom’ of the hat.
- If desired, sprinkle a little decorating sugar over the white frosting for a snowy effect.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- The color of the frosting used for the main hat portion can be red for a traditional look, or you can use white frosting throughout for a simpler appearance.
- Ensure cupcakes are completely cool before frosting to prevent melting.