You know those winter scenes with tiny reindeer and snow-flocked trees set in lanterns and glass globes in every home store right now? Well, I’m fascinated by them and want to make one for Christmas in a beautiful copper lantern that I got this past summer. I haven’t done it yet, but was inspired to work with a different landscape: marbled cupcakes!
Aren’t they cute? They remind me of dioramas from my younger school years — except without the shoe box and way sweeter!
Truth be told, I didn’t make these cupcakes from scratch. I used a box of classic white and red food coloring. <Gasp!>
Especially during the busy holiday season, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to heed Ina Garten’s advice, “Store-bought is fine.” Plus, my kids love to help bake and box mixes make it easy. Let’s glam it up a bit, however, and make some fun and festive marbled cupcakes instead of everyday plain ones.
First, make the cake according to the directions on the box. My son has been helping in the kitchen for a couple of years now — look at him go!
I cracked the eggs for him, but otherwise he handled this all on his own. He also prefers to stir by hand than use the stand mixer.
Next, divide the batter and dye half of it with red food coloring. Then layer scoops of red and white batter in each cupcake liner. Fill them only 2/3 full; we got a little carried away and filled them to the top. They turned out like giant Costco muffins — no complaints here.
We conducted an experiment to see what they would look like simply layered (white batter on top of red) and slightly mixed (using a butter knife to swirl the centers).
The layered ones came out like this:
While the mixed ones came out like this:
I topped them both with my signature cream cheese frosting, which sealed the deal on deliciousness.
For decorations, I sprinkled the tops with sanding sugar to resemble snow and because every kitchen deserves a bit of sparkle. And mini tree and deer figurines from the local craft store. Hello, Cuteness!
And a few candy canes for good measure. Welcome to Candy Cane Lane!
Wilton makes the signs and little gingerbread bakers. Just look at that little guy with the stars and try not to smile!
So whether you’re a novice baker or just crunched for time, you can still whip up a batch of fun and festive cupcakes with a boxed mix and a few decorative items. Happy Holidays! — v.
The 12 Baking Days of Christmas 2017
Day 1 ❄︎︎ Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Day 2 ❄︎ Skillet Sugar Cookies
Day 3 ❄︎ Cranberry Orange Scones
Day 4 ❄︎ White Chocolate Bark: Two Ways
Day 5 ❄︎ Rudy’s Gingerbread Loaf
Day 6 ❄︎ Homemade Cornbread
Day 7 ❄︎ Homemade Cornbread Stuffing
Day 8 ❄︎ Red Velvet Cookies
Day 9 ❄︎ Red & White Marbled Cupcakes
Day 10 ❄︎ Mini Caramel Apple Pies
Day 11 ❄︎ Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole
Day 12 ❄︎ Christmas Checkerboard Cake
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Red & White Marbled Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box classic white cake mix
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp red food coloring
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper baking cups.
- Step 2 In a large mixing bowl, prepare cake mix according to directions on the box: combine cake mix with water, egg whites and vegetable oil and mix until smooth.
- Step 3 Divide the batter in half. Dye half of the batter with red food coloring.
- Step 4 Spoon red batter into liners, then top with white batter. Gently swirl with a knife, if desired. Fill the liners no more than 2/3 full and bake for time specified on the box or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Step 5 For the frosting: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and blend well. Add powdered sugar, a little at a time, and blend until smooth and fluffy, another 2-3 minutes. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired. Enjoy!
