Holiday baking has to be one of life’s greatest joys and these cute Reindeer Cupcakes are the best way to celebrate all things Christmas. Soft vanilla cupcakes swirled with fluffy vanilla buttercream and decorated like Santa’s reindeer with pretzel antlers and a red candy nose.
This an easy recipe for Christmas cupcakes that the whole family can join in the making and decorating!
If you are looking for other Christmas baking ideas, try this recipe for a Christmas Wreath Pavlova, or this recipe for a Chocolate Fudge Pie.
For other cupcake recipes for holiday parties try out this recipe for Cinnamon Cupcakes or this recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting.
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Ingredients
To make this reindeer cupcakes recipe for your next holiday party, you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Remember to always use fresh, room temperature ingredients.
- Sunflower oil
- Extra-large eggs
- Granulated white sugar
- Whole milk
- Self-raising flour
- Salt
- Vanilla bean paste
- Powdered sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Pretzels
- Jelly tots
- Edible silver glitter
Sunflower oil – for this recipe I recommend using sunflower oil, but you can also use any other neutral-tasting vegetable oil.
Extra-large eggs – for this recipe I have used extra-large eggs. These eggs weigh about 56 grams out of their shell. If you don’t have extra large eggs, rather weigh the eggs you do have and then work out if more eggs need to be added. Always use room-temperature eggs when baking.
Self-raising flour – I like using self-raising flour but you can use a combination of all-purpose flour and baking powder. For this recipe use, 290 grams of flour and 2 tablespoons of baking powder sifted together.
Vanilla bean paste – for extra vanilla flavor use a good quality vanilla bean paste, if you can’t find any use vanilla extract or essence.
Pretzels – you will need these to make the antlers, I used large pretzels and broke them into pieces. You can do the same or use whole mini pretzels.
Jelly tots – for Rudolph’s nose I used a red jelly tot, you can use smarties, m&m’s, or skittles. Just a round red candy will work. You can choose to add candy eyes if you can find them.
Edible glitter – for some extra Christmas décor dust the cupcakes with edible silver glitter if you have any.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the instructions below to make these Rudolph cupcakes. First, you will be making the vanilla cupcakes, then the vanilla buttercream, and then decorating.
Instructions for cupcakes
STEP 1: Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line 24 cupcake cases into two 12-hole cupcake pans.
STEP 2: Beat eggs, sugar, and oil. Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
STEP 3: Add dry ingredients. Sift together the salt, and flour then add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
STEP 4: Add milk and vanilla. In a jug combine the milk and vanilla bean paste, and slowly pour this into the cake batter with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
STEP 5: Bake. Pour the cupcake batter into the cupcake cases, filling each case two-thirds of the way up. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in their tins for 5 minutes, then to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Instructions for frosting
STEP 1: Beat butter and icing sugar. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
STEP 2: Add milk. With the mixer's motor running at low speed slowly add the milk. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.
STEP 3: Add the vanilla bean paste. Add the vanilla bean paste and beat again until well combined. Fill a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle with the buttercream.
STEP 4: Decorate. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake and break the pretzels in half to create antlers, place two antlers onto the top of each cupcake and one red jelly tot in the middle of the cupcake. Dust with edible glitter and enjoy!
Hint: Always frost completely cooled cupcakes.
Equipment
For these festive cupcakes, you will need x2 12-hole muffin tin, 24x cupcake liners, a wire rack for cooling, a disposable piping bag, a piping nozzle, and an electric mixer.
I prefer using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make the buttercream as they help ensure a fluffy frosting.
Storage
Cupcakes cool quickly and dry out just as quickly so try to frost them the same day that they are baked. If you don’t have time to decorate the cupcakes the same day as baking them, store them in an airtight container or cover the cupcake trays in plastic wrap until the next day.
Once these easy reindeer cupcakes are frosted keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days out of direct sunlight. If the weather is particularly hot, choose to store them in the fridge and bring them to room temperature before eating them.
To freeze these cupcakes, place any leftover cupcakes in a freezer-safe air-tight container and freeze them for up to three months.
Top tips
Follow these expert tips below to make sure you are baking the perfect cupcakes for your Christmas party this holiday season.
- Always use fresh room temperature ingredients, this is especially important for the butter.
- Take care to not crinkle the cupcake cases when placing them into the cupcake pan.
- Never overfill the cupcake cases, two-thirds is enough to ensure a perfectly domed cupcake.
- For the best results only frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.
FAQ
If you don’t have self-raising flour, use a combination of all-purpose flour and baking powder. For this recipe use 290 grams of flour and two tablespoons of baking powder.
Any red round candies will work for the red nose of the reindeer. Try using red m&ms, red smarties, red skittles, or red Astros.
This is a runny batter so I use a jug to pour the batter into the cupcake cases. For a perfect cupcake, don't fill the cases more than ⅔ of the way up. You can also use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake papers.
I’m a sucker for a great-tasting vanilla cupcake and this recipe has to be the best vanilla cupcake recipe ever. If you agree with me, don’t forget to leave a comment and a star review below with your feedback for these delicious cupcakes!
I’d love to see how your little Christmas reindeer cupcakes turned out.
So don’t forget to send your baking snaps of your own cupcakes to me on Instagram @with_love_kitty and let me know how much fun you had making these adorable reindeer cupcakes!
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Reindeer Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2x 12-hole cupcake pans
Ingredients
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
- 120 ml sunflower oil
- 3 eggs extra-large
- 250 g white sugar
- 290 g self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 270 ml whole milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Vanilla Bean Frosting
- 500 g powdered sugar
- 160 g unsalted butter
- 50 ml whole milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 24 cupcake cases into two 12-hole cupcake pans.
- Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Sift together the salt, and flour then add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
- In a jug combine the milk and vanilla bean paste, and slowly pour this into the cake batter with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
- Pour the cupcake batter into the cupcake cases, filling each case two-thirds of the way up. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in their tins for 5 minutes, then to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Vanilla Bean Frosting
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- With the mixer's motor running at low speed slowly add the milk. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and beat again until well combined. Fill a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle with the buttercream.
- Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake and break the pretzels in half to create antlers, place two antlers onto the top of each cupcake and one red jelly tot in the middle of the cupcake. Dust with edible glitter and enjoy!
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