HOLLY LEAF CHRISTMAS CUPCAKE TOPPERS
These holly leaf Christmas cupcake toppers pair perfectly with vanilla or chocolate cupcakes and buttercream icing. Get the recipe for the Madagascan vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing.
For 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
- Cornstarch, for dusting
- Small rolling pin
- 2oz green ready-made gum paste (see page 159 for suppliers)
- Small sharp knife
- Small paintbrush with soft bristles
- Boiled water, cooled
- Edible glitter in “disco green,” “yellow,” and “super nova purple“
- Pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip
- 1 quantity Vanilla Buttercream or Cream Cheese Frosting, colored with red, green, and/or yellow edible food coloring pastes
- 12 chocolate or vanilla cupcake bases
Step 1
Dust a little cornstarch onto your work surface to stop the gum paste from sticking to it. Then roll out the gum paste to 1/8 inch in thickness.
Step 2
Using the tip of a small sharp knife, carefully cut out 12 holly leaves. (You may find it easier to make a paper template first to cut around.) Leave them to dry in the refrigerator for several hours, or ideally overnight, until hard.
Step 3
Using a small paintbrush, lightly brush the cooled boiled water over the surface of the holly leaves. Cover with edible glitter and shake off the excess, then leave them to dry for a few minutes.
Step 4
Fill the pastry bag with frosting, twist the end tightly, and squeeze gently until the frosting starts to come through.
Step 5
Hold the bag vertically and slowly pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of a cupcake. Continue in a spiral until you reach the center. Stop the pressure, then push the bag down and up sharply to finish.
Step 6
Poke the holly leaf into the top of the frosted cupcake. Frost the remaining cupcakes in the same way and arrange a holly leaf on top of each to finish.
Step 7
This holly leaf cupcake recipe is excerpted with permission from Cox Cookies & Cake
by Patrick Cox and Eric Lanlard, and published by Mitchell Beazley (Octopus Publishing Group).
