Easy peasy festive cupcakes

Need an excuse to stock up on Curly Wurlys? These festive treats are it. Put your baking colleagues to shame by whipping out one of these bad boys. Ha!

Vanilla cupcakes
Makes 12
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
190g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
115g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
120ml full fat milk
1tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Put the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and give
it a good stir. Add the butter (preferably at room temperature) and blend with an electric mixer until combined. If you don’t have an electric mixer, a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease should do it. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
3. Add the vanilla extract to the milk, then add to the cake mix a bit at a time.
4. Spoon the batter evenly into the cake cases and bake for 15 mins.

Vanilla Icing
60g unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp double cream
350g icing sugar
4 tbsp full fat milk. Beat the butter until smooth, then mix in the milk, cream and vanilla extract. Beat in the sugar bit by bit until you get a firm glossy frosting.

Chocolate Icing
60g unsalted butter
3 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder l 1/2 tsp salt l 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
250g icing sugar
2tbsp full-fat milk
2tbsp double cream. Beat the butter and cocoa together until smooth. Mix in the salt, vanilla, milk and cream until combined. Beat in the sugar bit by bit until the frosting is thick. And now to decorate…

The Snowman: 1 rolo for the hat, Sainsbury’s black icing to cover hat & for eyes, a dried apricot cut into a tiny triangle for nose, a chocolate button for hat, 2 coconut sweets for snowman body, a cocktail stick to hold coconut sweets together and dessicated coconut for sprinkling

The Reindeer: 1 red smartie for the tip of the nose, a curly wurly cut into antlers, Sainsbury’s designer icing for eyes, 2 white chocolate buttons for eyes, one large chocolate button for the base of the nose and silver balls for eyeballs

The Santa: 1 strawberry – remove the stalk and cut in half. Turn upside down and squirt whipped cream on base of the strawberry. Top with the other half and finish with a small squirt of cream. Whipped cream and Sainsbury’s black designer icing for eyes & buttons