Christmas tree cupcakes are such a cute and fun way to take cupcakes to a whole new level! They’re moist, rich chocolate cupcakes topped with a festive Christmas tree made out of an ice cream cone and filled with a delicious surprise once revealed. The best part is they seem like they’ve taken hours to make, but in reality they're so quick and easy to make and are perfect to share with friends and family.

What Ingredients Are Needed?

1 box cake mix of choice: You can make the cake yourself, however if you're trying to make this as easy and quick as possible than box cake mix is the way to go. Any flavor will work just fine for this recipe.
1 box of ice cream cones: The ice cream cones that will work for this recipe have to be the ones with a flat brim to stand on the cupcake.
Butter: Room temperature butter is one of the key ingredients to a good buttercream frosting. It’s very important if you want to achieve a soft and smooth buttercream frosting.
Heavy cream: Using heavy cream is the best way to create a lighter, softer and fluffier frosting without adding any extra sweetness. It also helps the frosting whip up a lot nicer, perfect for piping and decorating with it.
Vanilla: It’s such an easy way to elevate your frosting than it tasting like butter and sugar, but to vanilla. It can also be substituted with any other flavoring of choice.
Salt: Just a small pinch of it can be used to balance out the sweetness of your frosting and make it stand out. It will also draw out the flavors you’ve added in, like vanilla or chocolate.

Sprinkles: Star sprinkles are the way to go for these Christmas tree cupcakes, while they are optional, they are highly recommended as they will take these cupcakes to a whole other level!
Powdered Sugar: The powdered sugar is used in both the frosting recipe and to sprinkle at the end on top of the cupcakes to represent snow.

Tips For Successful Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Prepare box cake mix & Bake according to package directions.
Beat the butter on medium-high until mixture turns off-white.
Slowly add the powdered sugar until incorporated, mixing on low, increasing the speed to high.
Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Next, add the green food coloring to only 3/4 of the frosting and leave the rest white.
Cover the top of the cupcake with the white frosting.
Place ice cream cones on cupcakes and pipe little star dollops on the ice cream cones using a number 30 tip.
Top with star shaped sprinkles. Sift powdered sugar on top to represent snow.

How To Store Christmas Tree Cupcakes?

To keep these Christmas tree cupcakes fresh, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days. You can also keep covered at room temperature, however, for up to 2 days. If it’s warm, they should go in the fridge to stay as good as possible.

Serving size

Around 12 Christmas tree cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1 box cake mix of choice
1 box of ice cream cones

Frosting

3/4 cup butter
2 cups powder sugar
3 tbsp heavy cream (or 2 tbsp milk)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp green food coloring

Toppings

Star shaped Sprinkles
Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Step 1

Prepare box cake mix according to package instructions. Fill the cupcakes about 3/4 full of the cake batter. Bake according to package direction. Once baked, cool completely before frosting.

Step 2

For the frosting, beat the butter on medium-high until the mixture turns off-white while scraping down the sides of the bowl (about 5 minutes). Then slowly add the powdered sugar until incorporated, mixing on low, increasing the speed to high. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Next, add the green food coloring to only 3/4 of the frosting and leave the rest white. Whip the mixture until fluffy. Place, the white frosting into a piping bag and snip off the corner, then add the green frosting into a piping bag fitted with a number 30 piping tip. Set aside.

Step 3

To decorate the cupcakes, use the white frosting, frost the top of each cupcake and place the ice cream cones upside down. (You can fill the ice cream cones with candy if desired). Using a number 30 tip, pipe little star dollops on the ice cream cones, then top with star shaped sprinkles. Sift powdered sugar on top to represent snow. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Cupcakes