Description
Create adorable Santa Hat Cupcakes with moist chocolate cake, creamy white chocolate ganache, and a fresh strawberry topper. These festive treats are perfect for holiday parties and easy enough for kids to help decorate.
Ingredients
Scale
- Cupcakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup hot coffee or hot water
- White Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 oz white chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream, divided
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Assembly:
- Fresh strawberries, hulled, similar size
Instructions
- Cupcakes: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, both sugars, oil, and vanilla until smooth and glossy.
- Stir in the sour cream until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix gently. Do not overmix.
- Pour in the hot coffee or water and stir until the batter is smooth and on the thinner side.
- Divide the batter evenly between the liners, filling each about ¾ full.
- Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before decorating.
- White Chocolate Ganache: Place the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
- Heat ½ cup of cream until it just starts to simmer, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes before stirring until smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla and a pinch of salt.
- Add the remaining ½ cup cold cream and stir it in.
- Cover and chill for 2–3 hours, until thickened but still soft.
- Whip the ganache with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stop before it gets grainy.
- Assembly: Pipe a swirl of the whipped ganache onto each cooled cupcake.
- Place a strawberry, tip pointing up, in the center to form the “hat”.
- Add a small dot of ganache on the tip of the strawberry for the fluffy pom-pom.
Notes
- Bake cupcakes a day in advance and store covered at room temperature. Add ganache and strawberries just before serving.
- Once decorated, store cupcakes in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.
- Undecorated cupcakes freeze well for up to 2 months. Wrap tightly and thaw at room temperature before decorating.
- For a fun kid-friendly activity, let children add the ganache pom-poms.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking and Frosting
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: Estimate based on ingredients
- Sugar: Estimate based on ingredients
- Sodium: Estimate based on ingredients
- Fat: Estimate based on ingredients
- Saturated Fat: Estimate based on ingredients
- Unsaturated Fat: Estimate based on ingredients
- Trans Fat: Estimate based on ingredients
- Carbohydrates: Estimate based on ingredients
- Fiber: Estimate based on ingredients
- Protein: Estimate based on ingredients
- Cholesterol: Estimate based on ingredients
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