These beautiful Santa Hat Cupcakes are a perfect dessert for holiday parties! Rich chocolate cupcakes are topped with a creamy vanilla buttercream and bright red strawberries to mimic Santa’s hat.

Recipe by Savory Simple.

https://www.californiastrawberries.com/santa-hat-cupcakes/

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Santa Hat Cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 12 Cupcakes

Equipment

• Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
• Standard cupcake pan
• Piping tips (recommended: Wilton 2D and Wilton 10)
• Piping bag

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp half-and-half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 9 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
• 8 oz white sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature

For the Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4 ½ cups confectioners sugar plus more as needed
• ¼ cup half-and-half room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp salt

Topping

• 12 large California strawberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Place the oven shelf on the center rack. Line a standard cupcake pan with liners and spray lightly with baking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sifted cocoa powder. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the half-and-half and vanilla.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes until light and creamy (start with a lower speed and work up to high to avoid splatter). Scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula, then add the eggs on low speed, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times until completely incorporated.
4. On medium-low speed, swiftly alternate between adding the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, until everything is just combined. Give the sides of the bowl one more scrape, all the way to the bottom.
5. Evenly distribute the cupcake batter between the liners, no more than halfway full. There may be a little remaining batter.
6. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a toothpick. Cool completely before removing from the pan.

Prepare the Frosting

1. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld electric mixer), whip the butter on medium speed until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the confectioner sugar, half-and-half and vanilla. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 2-4 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
3. If the frosting is too thin, add some additional sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. Or, if it’s too thick, add half-and-half, 2 tablespoons at a time.

Assemble the Cupcakes

1. Slice the stem ends from the strawberries, creating a flat surface.
2. With a star piping tip (recommended: Wilton 2D tip), frost the cupcakes in a circular motion from the outside to the center. Don’t add height; aim for a flat, single layer of frosting.
3. Top each cupcake with a strawberry in the middle, flat-side down.
4. Pipe a small amount of frosting onto the tip of each strawberry (recommended: Wilton 10 tip).
5. Cupcakes are best served at room temperature. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within a few days.

Notes

Whole milk or heavy cream can be substituted for the half-and-half in the vanilla buttercream.