Christmas Tree Cupcakes (Vegan)

When this time of year rolls around, I start craving cozy baking projects, especially ones like these Christmas tree cupcakes. They’re whimsical, delicious, and surprisingly easy to make. With just a few ingredients and a touch of creativity, you can transform a moist chocolate cupcake into an adorable edible tree shape—the perfect centerpiece for any winter celebration.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• flour: I use plain, all purpose flour. If you are in the UK, use stong white flour instead of plain flour.
• cocoa powder: I recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• sugar: for this recipe we are using granulated sugar
• espresso powder: this brings out the chocolate flavor in the cupcakes
• leavening agents: we are using both baking powder and baking soda in this recipe
• salt: just a pinch of salt brings out the sweetness in these

Wet Ingredients

• dairy-free milk: I like using soy milk because of its creamier consistency, but any milk will work here.
• apple cider vinegar: a little bit of acidity helps activate the baking powder and give these cupcakes an extra lift.
• neutral oil: any oil of your liking will work, but I like using canola oil because it doesn't have any flavor.
• vanilla extract: essential for an extra delicious taste.

Buttercream "Snow" Frosting

• powdered sugar / icing sugar
• vegan butter
• vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt

I recommend using a stand mixer to make the frosting.

Christmas Tree Ingredients

• vegan white chocolate
• matcha powder or green gel paste: to color the white chocolate. Add as much or as little as you need to create the green shade you like.
• pretzel sticks
• shredded coconut: to look like snow
• holiday sprinkles: I used tiny round sprinkles to resemble lights and and star sprinkles to put on top of the tree.

Note: you can use green candy melts here instead of white chocolate mixed with matcha powder or green food gel, but those are not vegan so if you want to make these cupcakes vegan like I did, you would have to use the method I used.

Alternatively, you can use store bought chocolate cake mix to make this process a whole lot easier. However, if you decide to make these from scratch, I highly recommend making these moist chocolate cupcakes.

How to make these Christmas cupcakes

Combine all of the cupcake ingredients. Place cupcake liners on a muffin pan. Add the cupcake batter to the cupcake pan, and bake the cupcakes. Place on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Gaby Dimova

These Christmas tree cupcakes are a cute and fun way to decorate cupcakes for the holidays!

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 14 cupcakes

Calories 96 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Dry Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 210g
• ¾ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder 64g
• 1 cup sugar 200g
• 2 teaspoon espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• 2 cups dairy-free milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup neutral oil I use canola oil
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Buttercream "Snow" Frosting

• 3 cups powdered sugar 390g
• ¾ cup vegan butter 170g
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt

Christmas Trees

• vegan white chocolate about 1 cup
• matcha powder or green food gel
• pretzel sticks you'll need about 14
• shredded coconut to look like snow
• colorful sprinkles and star sprinkles

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients, followed by the wet ingredients, and whisk together.
• Note: I highly recommend sifting the flour and cocoa powder, or you might get uneven clumps.
• Line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Fill each cupcake cup ¾ of the way up with batter. You should get 13-14 cupcakes.
• Bake the cupcakes at 350°F/175C °C for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
• While the cupcakes are baking, use a stand mixer to beat the butter, then add in the vanilla and salt, and slowly start adding the powdered sugar.
• Once the cupcakes have baked and *fully** cooled, spread a generous amount of buttercream on each cupcake.
• Add a generous amount of shredded coconut to a small bowl, and dip the top of each cupcake in the coconut to resemble snow.
• To create the Christmas trees, melt your vegan white chocolate, then add as much matcha powder or green food gel to the mix as you'd like to create a vibrant green color.
• Transfer the mixture to a piping bag.
• Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of a cutting board or baking tray. Line the pretzel sticks on top of the parchment paper.
• Snip the end off the piping bag and drizzle the green chocolate on top of each pretzel stick to resemble a Christmas tree (see video for a visual).
• Sprinkle either coconut flakes on top to resemble snow, or sprinkles and a star to resemble Christmas decorations.
• Place the trees in the fridge so the chocolate can harden.
• Once the trees are ready, stick each tree on top of a cupcake, and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 96kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 26mgPotassium: 45mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 204IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg

Keyword christmas tree cupcakes

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