Vanilla Holiday Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting
I love everything about the Christmas holiday season. From festive treats, like these mouthwatering Vanilla Holiday Cupcakes, to snowy days by the fire, everything about the season is spent with family and friends making the best memories.
Vanilla Holiday Cupcakes – Bring the Festive
Make this classic moist cupcake into a delicious Vanilla Holiday Cupcakes display for weekend gatherings or events. The bright reds of the frosted cranberries next to a sprig of rosemary greenery are the perfect accents to take these cupcakes to the next party level. Just remember not to eat the garnish, it’s for looks. The rock candy is an exceptionally tasty surprise.
Vanilla Holiday Cupcakes are prepared with a buttercream vanilla base for a fluffy consistency and topped with a creamy chocolate ganache frosting. The pairing of the two flavours compliment each other perfectly like a tiny explosion of happiness in your mouth.
What are some of your favourite ways to make memories over the holidays?
These cupcakes are a nice activity to do together with a loved one; they are fairly easy to make, with a few pre-purchased ingredients, and pleasantly festive for this time of year. Baking is part of making fun holiday memories each year.
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Try these other holiday recipes from my family favourite recipe box:
- CHEWY AMARETTI HOLIDAY COOKIES
- WHIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES
- CHERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN BALLS
- ICED CHERRY SQUARES
- NO-BAKE NANAIMO BARS
- PECAN BUTTER TART SHORTBREAD BARS
- CHEWY GINGERSNAP COOKIES
- PEANUT BUTTER SHORTBREAD TOFFEE BITES
- HOLIDAY WREATH COOKIES
- SANTA’S WHISKERS COOKIES
- GRINCH SUGAR COOKIES
- MISTLETOE COCKTAIL
Vanilla Holiday Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil, divided
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- FOR THE CUPCAKES
- ½ cup room temperature salted butter
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder - (yes,1 tablespoon)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 and ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature, divided
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 2 cups quality dark chocolate
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Add the soft butter, sugar, ¼ cup of vegetable oil and ¼ cup of buttermilk, reserve the rest for later. Cream together for about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides. Add the vanilla. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time. Mix the remaining oil and buttermilk together and set to the side.
In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.Add about a ¼ of the flour mixture into the liquid and stir by hand only enough to incorporate, avoid over mixing it! Pour in a third of the buttermilk/oil mixture. Alternate flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Avoid over mixing, the batter will be just slightly lumpy and this is okay, just make sure there aren’t any flour clumps.You should have a super thick, lush batter.
Spoon or scoop into your cupcake papers, about ⅔ full. We bake these for 23 minutes at 350 degrees, keep a close eye as you approach the 20 minute mark and remove from the oven when a toothpick check is clean and the top of the cupcakes spring back a pinch.
Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let the cupcakes COMPLETELY cool before frosting them. Frosting while they are still warm will melt your frosting and end up a bit messy. Garnish to your preference and enjoy!
GANACHE FROSTING - Heat the heavy cream over medium/low heat, be careful not to overheat or burn it.
Place the chocolate bits in your stand mixer. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate bits and stir slowly until you have a thick velvety smooth chocolate sauce.Add the whisk attachment to your stand mixer and then slowly increase the speed and whip the ganache until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. You’ll want to scrape down the sides to make sure all of the liquid is included in the frosting.
When ready to frost, transfer to a pipping bag with a large open tip.
Optional garnishes: Sugar coated fresh cranberries (get the cranberries wet, lightly dab off excess water and thenroll in granulated sugar. Fresh or dried rosemary sprigs (I used rosemary I had dried at home by leaving it out uncoveredand simply air drying in the sun). Rock candy (broken off of rock candy pops). Silver cupcake liners.
Notes
These freeze nicely! Simply put them on a tray or cooling rack once completely decorated and then let them freeze solid, about an hour, then carefully put them into an air tight container in thefreezer for up to 2 months. Allow about 30 minutes for the cupcakes to thaw before serving. The cranberries will nicely holdup to freezing and thawing
