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–+ servings
robin cupcakes.
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5 from 2 votes

Christmas Robin Cupcakes

These fun Christmas robin cupcakes are perfect for the festivities ahead.  They’re super easy to make, largely being shaped with a plain round cookie cutter, making them a fun bake for children to help with.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: afternoon tea, Cake
Cuisine: British
Keyword: childrens party, Christmas, cupcake, Novelty cupcake
Servings: 10 cupcakes
Calories: 500kcal
Author: Angela – Only Crumbs Remain

Equipment

  • 10 muffin sized cupcake cases
  • muffin tray
  • Round Cookie Cutters
  • Rolling pin (ideally a plastic one suitable for fondant work)

  • Small brush used for food preparation only

Ingredients

For the chocolate ganache

For the Cupcakes

  • 175 g (6oz) butter softened
  • 175 g (6oz) golden caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • 175 g (6oz) self-raising flour
  • 1 – 2 tablespoon milk

To decorate

Instructions

To make the chocolate ganache.

  • Pour 125ml (4floz) double cream into a small pan and heat gently until the cream begins to bubble around the edge of the pan.
  • Place 125g (4oz) chopped chocolate orange into a bowl and pour the heated cream over the chocolate. Stir the until the chocolate has melted and a smooth ganache is formed. Set aside in a cool place to firm up to a spreadable consistency. (You may need to pop it in the fridge for a bit.)

To make the cupcakes.

  • Preheat the oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan)/375°F/gas mark 5. Place the muffin cases into the muffin tray.
  • Place the 175g (6oz) butter and 175g (6oz) caster sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together until very pale and fluffy Beat in the 1 teaspoon orange extract and beat again to combine. Gradually add 3 beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Beat in 1 tablespoon milk. Sieve 175g (6oz) flour into the mixture and gently fold in with a spatula or large metal spoon.
  • Divide the mixture equally between the 10 muffin cases and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until risen and springy to the touch. allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate

  • Spread about a teaspoon of the ganache over the tops of the cupcakes. There’s no need to take the ganache all the way to the edge of the cupcakes
  • Knead the chocolate fondant a little until it is pliable, Dust the work surface with a little cornflour and roll the fondant until about be 2-3mm (⅛ in) thick. Cut out discs of the chocolate fondant using a cutter a little larger than the surface of the cupcake. Place one of the discs onto each cupcake. Use the plump area at the base of your thumb to gently press and neaten the edges of the disc into the cupcake.
  • Roll out the red fondant a little thinner than the chocolate fondant. Use the large cutter to cut discs of fondant. Then use a slightly smaller cutter, cut the red fondant discs to create an oval shapes. Brush the area of the cupcake where the red fondant will be positioned with a little water and place the oval of red fondant onto the cupcake so that the side of the oval which was cut with the larger cutter sits against the edge of the cupcake.  Use the plump area at the base of your thumb to gently secure the red fondant in place.
  • Shape the robin’s eyes. Roll out a small amount of white fondant about 2mm thick and cut out 2 round discs (See tip below). Apply a small amount of water to the cupcake where the eyes will be positioned and fix in place. Roll a small amount of black fondant between your hands to create a ball. Place the black ball of fondant onto the white disc, use the pad of your finger to squash it gently to create the round pupil. 
  • Create the robin’s beak. Roll out some yellow fondant about 2mm (⅛in). Cut out small triangles and fix in place with a little water.
  • Shape the robin’s wings. Roll out some of the chocolate fondant. Using the larger cookie cutter cut out a disc. Use the smaller cutter to cut slender oval shapes in the same way as with the red fondant for the robin’s breast (though the wings need to be narrower). You should be able to cut out 4 wings from each large disc.
  • Fix in place with a little water, curling the ‘the wings upwards to create some ‘movement’ in the robin. Enjoy

Video

Notes

Cook's Tips
  • When making the cupcake batter, consider weighing the eggs first to ensure the batter has equal weight of butter, sugar, flour and eggs. Simply weigh the butter, sugar and flour to the same weight as the eggs. 
  • Consider warming your lightly beaten eggs over a bain marie especially if they feel particularly cold. Warm them until they feel lukewarm. This should help prevent the batter from curdling and produce a better cupcake sponge.
  • You need 2 cutters for these cakes one just slightly larger than the surface of the cupcake and the other sightly smaller 
  • To cut out the robins eyes use  either a small plunger cutter or, if you don’t have one available, the wide end of a piping nozzle.
  • Ball up off-cuts of fondant and keep it covered why you work to prevent it drying out cover it over. 
  • You only need to very slightly dampen fondant with water to fix in place, brush off excess water on the side of the dish before applying.
  • Use a dry brush to wipe away any cornflour from the finished cupcake.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal