Christmas trees
Ingredients
Buttermilk sponge ingredients:
- 175 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 200 g caster sugar
- 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk (beaten)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 225 g plain flour
- 0.50 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 125 ml buttermilk
- meringue butter cream ingredients:
- 200 g caster sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 250 g unsalted butter (softened and chopped)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- christmas tree ingredients:
- 1 quantity of buttermilk sponge
- 1 quantity of meringue buttercream
- green food colouring paste
- edible green glitter
- coloured sugar balls
- gold and silver sugar stars
Method
- You will need:
1-2 muffin tins, lined with 12 brown paper cupcake cases
Large piping bag, fitted with a medium star-shaped nozzle
- Buttermilk sponge method:
- Cream together the
butter and sugar until light and creamy. Gradually add the beaten eggs,
mixing well between each addition and scraping down the side of the
mixing bowl from time to time. Add the vanilla. Sift together the flour,
baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and add the mixture in alternate
batches with the buttermilk. Mix until smooth, then turn to the relevant
recipe.
- Meringue butter cream method:
- Put the sugar and egg
whites in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk
until it reaches at least 60°C (140°F) on a sugar thermometer. Pour into
the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment (or use an electric whisk and mixing bowl). Beat until the
mixture has doubled in volume, cooled and will stand stiff, glossy peaks
– this will take about 3 minutes. Gradually add the butter to the
cooled meringue mix, beating constantly, until the frosting is smooth.
Fold in the vanilla and use immediately.
- Christmas Trees method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
- Divide the buttermilk sponge between the cupcake cases, filling them two-thirds full.
- Bake on the middle
shelf of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden, well
risen and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before
transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Put three quarters of
the meringue buttercream in a bowl and tint with green using the food
colouring paste. Leave the rest untinted and spread some of this over
the top of each cold cupcake.
- Fill the piping bag
with the green frosting and, working from the centre, pipe pointed
branch shaped towards the edges of the cupcake. Keep doing this, turning
the cupcake as you go, until you have the bottom of a tree. Repeat with
the next layer up, making the branched shorter. Carry on with more
layers, making the braches ever shorter as you get to the top of the
tree.
- Dust with green glitter and decorate with coloured sugar balls. Top with a gold or silver star.