These fun Santa Belt Cupcakes are perfect for any holiday party or Christmas dinner dessert!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time18 minutesmins
Chill Time10 minutesmins
Total Time38 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 18servings
Author: Eating Gluten and Dairy Free
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcake Ingredients
1 ½cupsgluten free floursee suggestions in post
1teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonkosher salt
⅔cupdairy free milksee suggestions in post
1 ½teaspoonpure vanilla extract
½cupdairy free butterslightly softened - suggestions in post
1cupsugar
1large egg
2large egg whites
Frosting Ingredients
½cupshorteningsuggestion in post
½cupdairy free buttersoftened not melted suggestion in post
1teaspoonclear vanilla extract
4cupssifted confectioners' sugar
3-4Tablespoonsdairy free milkwater will also work
red gel food coloring
yellow gel food coloring
black gel food coloring
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
The first thing you will need to do is preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Get your cupcake baking pan and line it with 18 paper liners.
Grab your mixing bowl and add whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Separately in a smaller bowl stir the milk and vanilla together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture has become light and fluffy.
Reduce the speed to medium-low, and then slowly add the egg and egg whites one at a time. You will need to beat the mixture until creamy.
Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture, beating until just blended after each addition.
Divide the cake mix evenly among the cupcake liners and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This should be around 18 to 20 minutes.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. While they are cooling you can get on with making the frosting.
For the homemade buttercream frosting:
In a large bowl, cream shortening and butter with an electric handheld or stand mixer until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and mix well.
Add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time. Mix on low. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl often.
Add in dairy-free milk 1 Tablespoon at a time. Add in more for your desired consistency.
Now you will want to separate the frosting into three separate bowls.
Add the yellow food coloring to one, the red to the other, and finally, with the third bowl of frosting add the black food coloring. Stir until you get the desired colors for each.
Store frosting covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Allow softening to room temperature before frosting your baked goods.
Building the Santa belt cupcakes:
Scoop a mound of red frosting onto the top of the cupcake. Make sure they are completely cooled before frosting.
Carefully place the cupcake upside down so that the frosting is flat on the silicone baking mat.
Repeat the step above for the rest of the cupcakes before placing them in the freezer for 10 minutes or until the frosting on top is firm.
Carefully peel off the cupcake and frosting from the silicone baking mat.
Transfer black frosting to a piping bag. Using the black frosting pipe a thick line of black frosting across the center of the cupcake. This will be your Santa belt.
Transfer some yellow into a piping bag. Using the yellow, create an open square in the center of the black line. This is the belt buckle.
Using the black frosting again, pipe two dots above the buckle. This completes Santa's coat buttons on his Santa suit with Santa’s black belt.
There you have it your Santa belly cupcakes. Yummy!
Notes
Don't skip the freezing step. It helps you to get a smooth and hardened surface to work with when piping your belt and buckle details on top of the gluten and dairy free cupcakes and frosting.
In order to avoid a frosting mess, be sure your cupcakes have cooled sufficiently before frosting.
A great piping tip is to use a small tip on your piping bag. It will be the easiest way to get the desired decorated look.