These Reindeer Cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and a Rudolph decoration! They are so quick and easy, are perfect to make with friends and family, and are so festive for the holiday season!
Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday because it's filled with so much cheer, lots of love, and so many sweets. Some of my favorite festive treats are these Peppermint Brownie Cookies, these Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies, and these Snowman Brownies!
Or, if you are a chocolate lover and looking for another super rich and fudgy dessert, I'd suggest these Triple Chocolate Muffins or these Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Why You'll Love These
- festive for celebrating the holiday season
- one-bowl and moist chocolate cupcakes
- topped with a silky, fudge frosting
- easy to make and fun to decorate with all ages
Cupcake Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil is the base of the recipe. Oil creates a moister and fluffier cupcake than butter. It can be substituted for another unflavored oil.
- Eggs: 2 large eggs at room temperature add to structure.
- Vanilla Extract: Even though these have a deep chocolate flavor, pure vanilla extract rounds out the flavor of the cupcakes.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream creates moist and tender cupcakes. You can substitute it with Greek yogurt.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk smooths out the batter and creates lighter, more tender cupcakes.
- All Purpose Flour: Regular, plain all purpose flour is perfect for a soft texture. Measure properly by using a kitchen scale or by using a spoon to carry and level the flour into your measuring cups.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder is where these cupcakes get their chocolate flavor. I use natural cocoa powder.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: Both of these leavening agents work together to help these cupcakes rise with a gorgeous dome.
- Salt: Salt brings out sweetness and enhances flavor.
Step by Step Process
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, line your 12-count muffin tray with liners.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, room temperature eggs, vanilla extract, room temperature sour cream, and room temperature buttermilk together. Whisk until smooth.
STEP 3: Add your properly measured all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl. Mix with a whisk only until you see the dry flour pieces disappear.
STEP 4: Then, transfer your batter to the 12 liners, adding about ¼-1/3 cup of batter to each cavity. The cupcakes should be ¾ full.
STEP 5: Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes look slightly shiny, the centers look set, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with moist crumbs. Allow the cupcakes to cool before decorating.
STEP 6: In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat room temperature butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder on low speed until smooth. This should be about 2-3 minutes of mixing.
STEP 7: Pour heavy cream into the frosting and beat on high speed for at least 3 minutes to create a light frosting. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or a zippable plastic bag with the corner snipped off for greater control when frosting.
Reindeer Decoration
STEP 1: Pipe or spread a dollop of frosting on each cupcake before flattening out with a knife or the back of a spoon.
STEP 2: Place two pretzels for horns into the frosting towards the top of the cupcake.
STEP 3: Place two candy eyes and a red circle candy in the center to create Rudolph's nose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular milk will not produce the same light and fluffy texture. However, you can make homemade buttermilk by adding 1 ½ teaspoons (½ tablespoon) of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Then, pour room temperature dairy milk into the container to reach the ½ cup mark.
Finally, mix the milk and lemon juice or vinegar together before letting it sit for 5 minutes.
To make moist cupcakes, measure flour using a kitchen scale or by spooning flour into your measuring cups before sweeping a knife across the top to level it. Make sure not to overmix when adding the dry ingredients into the wet, and only bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs since overbaking leads to dry cupcakes.
These cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container or tightly covered at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. To freeze, place the cooled cupcakes, uncovered, in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then, wrap them individually in cling wrap and freeze.
Expert Tips
Measuring Flour: To avoid dry and dense cupcakes, measure flour with a kitchen scale to 105g exactly or use a spoon to transfer flour from your container to your measuring cups before using a knife to level.
Room Temperature Ingredients: Room temperature ingredients will allow the cupcake batter to come together more smoothly and result in more even cupcakes. If you forget to leave them out ahead of time, you can-
- leave eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes
- heat sour cream in the microwave for 10 seconds
- heat buttermilk in the microwave for 10 seconds
Mixer: I recommend using a mixer to make your frosting. Since you will be using cool butter in the frosting, it will be incredibly time-consuming and difficult to mix the frosting by hand.
Related Recipes
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Reindeer Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Cupcakes, Chocolate, Winter
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Reindeer Cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and a Rudolph decoration! They are so quick and easy, are perfect to make with friends and family, and are so festive for the holiday season!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- ¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (210g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs (100g), room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (85g) sour cream, room temperature
- ½ cup (120g) buttermilk, room temperature
For the Frosting
- 1 cup (220g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (54g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup (80g) heavy cream
For the Decoration
- 24 candy eyes
- 24 mini pretzel twists
- 12 red candies (I use M&Ms)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, line your 12-count muffin tray with liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, room temperature eggs, vanilla extract, room temperature sour cream, and room temperature buttermilk together. Whisk until smooth.
- Add your properly measured all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl. Mix with a whisk only until you see the dry flour pieces disappear.
- Then, transfer your batter to the 12 liners, adding about ¼-1/3 cup of batter to each cavity. The cupcakes should be ¾ full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes look slightly shiny, the centers look set, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with moist crumbs. Allow the cupcakes to cool before decorating.
For the Frosting
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat room temperature butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder on low speed until smooth. This should be about 2-3 minutes of mixing.
- Pour heavy cream into the frosting and beat on high speed for at least 3 minutes to create a light frosting. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or a zippable plastic bag with the corner snipped off for greater control when frosting.
For the Decorating
- Pipe or spread a dollop of chocolate frosting on each cupcake before flattening it out with a knife or the back of a spoon.
- Place two pretzel twists towards the top of the cupcake on either side to mimic horns.
- Then, add two candy eyes towards the center of the cupcake and a red candy right below for Rudolph’s nose.
- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container or tightly covered for up to 4 days at room temperature.
Notes
Buttermilk: Regular milk will not produce the same light and fluffy texture. However, you can make homemade buttermilk by adding 1 ½ teaspoons (½ tablespoon) of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Then, pour room temperature dairy milk into the container to reach the ½ cup mark. Finally, mix the milk and lemon juice or vinegar together before letting it sit for 5 minutes.
Measuring Flour: To avoid dry and dense cupcakes, measure flour with a kitchen scale to 105g exactly or use a spoon to transfer flour from your container to your measuring cups before using a knife to level.
Keywords: Reindeer Cupcakes, Rudolph Cupcakes, Chocolate Cupcakes
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