These Christmas reindeer cupcakes are perfect for Christmas baking season! It is a moist chocolate cupcake filled with homemade hot fudge and topped with chocolate fudge frosting. These cupcakes are decorated with red m&m's and pretzel to look like Rudolph the red nose reindeer.
How To Make Chocolate Cupcakes
These chocolate cupcakes are crazy moist! Here is how to make them
- Room temperature buttermilk and eggs- pull these out 2 hours before baking. This will help with the rise of the cupcakes.
- Use a mixer- use a hand or stand mixer and mix all of the dry ingredients together
- Mix wet ingredients together- in a sperate bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients together.
- Slowly add in hot water- the hot water should be added in slowly to prevent over cooking the eggs.
- Mix everything together slowly- slowly pour in the wet ingredients until batter is smooth and thin.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop batter- use a cookie scoop to neatly scoop the batter in to the muffin tin. Fill it ¾ full.
Once the cupcakes are filled, bake for 16-20 minutes
Hot Fudge Filled Cupcakes
These Christmas reindeer cupcakes are filled with homemade hot fudge. These are the fudgiest cupcakes!
First, use a cupcake corer to create a hole in the cupcake about ⅔rds down. Make sure to save the tops of the cupcakes!
Then, start to make the hot fudge. Start with heating up the cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and half of the chocoalte chips. Stir the mixture until it starts to boil. Then, reduce heat and let it cook for 5 minutes.
As the hot fudge cooks, it will start to thicken. Next, mix in the rest of the chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla. Once it starts to cools, it will thicken up like regular hot fudge.
Use a ½ TBSP to fill the cupcakes with hot fudge. Make sure to fill it to top. Then, place the tops back on to the cupcakes.
The cupcakes can be stored at room temperature if you are about to make the frosting. If you are making the frosting later, then store the cupcakes in the fridge.
Easy Chocolate Fudge Frosting
This frosting is super fudgy! I used this frosting in Turtle Brownies and I had to use it for a cake!
The important thing to know about making this frosting, it will appear dry at first, Once you add the milk and beat with a mixer, it will turn into a super silky chocolate frosting.
To decorate the cupcakes, use the back of a spoon to smooth the frosting. Use the spoon to add some swirls or texture.
Decorating Like Reindeers
You can keep these cupcakes into regular fudgy chocolate cupcakes. Or you can make them into reindeers.
All you need are these eye sprinkles, red m&m's, and pretzels snapped into 2.
It is so easy to decorate these cupcakes!
Storing The Cupcakes
These Christmas reindeer cupcakes should be stored in the fridge since they are filled with hot fudge. They will last up to 5 days in the fridge. The cupcakes taste best when pulled out to room temperature 1 hour before eating.
Other Cupcake Recipes To Try
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats and leave me a review below if you made these cupcakes. I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
Christmas Reindeer Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup White granulated sugar
- ½ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ¼ tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ cup Oil canola or vegetable
- ½ tsp Pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup Buttermilk room temperature
- 2 Large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup Hot water
Hot Fudge
- ⅓ cup Heavy cream
- ¼ cup Light corn syrup
- 2 ¾ TBSP Brown sugar packed light or dark
- ⅛ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips divided in half.
- 1 TBSP Unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp Pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- 6 TBSP Unsalted butter slightly cold
- ½ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 2 TBSP Light corn syrup
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups Powdered sugar sifted
- 3 TBSP Milk
- 12 Red M&M's for nose
- 24 Eye Sprinkles for eyes
- 12 Pretzels cut in half for the antlers.
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners. Set aside
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then using a mixer, mix for 15 seconds on low.
- Heat ½ cup hot water on the stove in a sauce pan until steaming. Mix the oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and eggs in a seperate mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot water. Don't add all at once or the eggs will cook.
- Slowly pour in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mix on low. Then, scrape the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the cupcake batter into the pan. Fill the liners about ¾ full.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes. The cupcakes are done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cupcakes sit in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely.
Hot Fudge
- In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the heavy cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and half of the chocolate chips. Heat to a boil. Stir while it is heating up until the chocolate is melted. Then, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir every 20 seconds.
- Take off heat, and add in butter, vanilla, and the rest of the chocolate. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted. Let the hot fudge to cool for 5-10 minutes before adding to the cupcakes
- Cut holes ⅔rds down the cupcakes by using a sharp knife or cupcake corer. Use a ½TBSP and pour the hot fudge in to the top of the cupcake. Place the tops back on the cupcakes.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- Place butter on the counter for 30 minutes to get it slightly cold. While that is resting, sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar in separate bowls. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium until light and fluffy. Add in the cocoa powder, corn syrup, and vanilla. Mix on low until combined. Turn to medium and mix for 30 seconds- 1 minute until the butter/chocolate turn soft and not as dry.
- Add in the powdered sugar. Mix on low until combined. Scrape the bowl ( it can stick very well to the sides of the bowl, so use a scraper) Then, mix again for 1 -2 minutes. The mixture should change from dry and crumbly to clumped together.
- Add in the milk. Mix on low until combined, then switch to medium for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl well. Turn the mixer to high and let it beat out any lumps. The frosting will become light in color. Stop mixing once the frosting is silky smooth.
- Use a spoon to decorate these cupcakes. Spoon a large sum of frosting on top of the cupcake. Use the back of the spoon to smooth the frosting and add some swirls.
- Top cupcakes with eye sprinkles, red m&m's, and pretzels. Store cupcakes in the fridge.
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