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Prettiest Christmas Cupcakes: Ganache Filled Cupcakes from Scratch

When trying to think of what to call these Ganache Filled Cupcakes I can’t help but to call them the Prettiest Christmas Cupcakes. They are SO lovely and honestly, so simple. And not only that, they are amazing! 

Ganache Filled Christmas Cupcakes

Prettiest Christmas Cupcakes: Ganache Filled Cupcakes from Scratch

 

Ingredients for making Homemade Cupcakes from Scratch

  • ½ cup room temperature, unsalted butter
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1.5 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
  • 1 and ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature
  • Nonstick baking spray to grease the muffin pan

*Try not to replace the ½ cup of oil for butter, it will make the cake heavier instead of richer

Cupcake Toppings: 

  1. ½ cup crystal sugar or sprinkles
  2. Wilton’s winter sprinkles for the leaf portion and classic red rounds in two different sizes
  3. (both of these are from Wilton and available online or at Michael’s Crafts stores – I’ve also seen them all at Walmart)

Homemade Frosting Ingredients

You can use your favorite store bought frosting (get two standard sized containers) or follow the easy one below. I make this while the cupcakes are baking.

  • 3 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla 
  • 3.5 to 5 tablespoons of heavy cream

Start by adding a little less heavy cream and then you can always use the rest after if you decide you need it for the consistency you want. Whisk together by hand or use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer until you have a fluffy and smooth texture, cover the bowl with a lid and then set aside until later. 

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients

I make this while the cupcakes are cooling down.

  • 1.5 cups quality milk chocolate, I shaved some off of a bar, but bits will work!
  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Using a microwave safe glass dish, simply combine the cream and chocolate bits and heat for 30 seconds, stir for a minute, if needed, heat for another 30 seconds and stir again until silky smooth.

Ganache Filled Christmas Cupcakes

Making Ganache

Instructions for making Ganache Filled Cupcakes 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  2. Add the soft butter, sugar, and ½  cup of oil to your mixing bowl, cream together for a few minutes, scraping down the sides.
  3. Pour in the vanilla and eggs at the same time, but slowly
  4. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. 
  5. Alternate slowly mixing in some of the flour and then some of the buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Try your best not to over mix or work the batter!
  6. Coat the muffin pan with a coconut baking spray filled cupcakes
  7. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the wells about ¾ full.
  8. Ganache filled cupcakes Bake for 17 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees, remove when the cakes have puffed up, spring back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

Ganache Filled Cupcakes Instructions

Give the cupcakes about 20 minutes to cool (make the ganache during this time). Using a large piping tip, measuring spoon or other small circular item, make round cutouts and then simply scoop out or press down on the cake. Both options work well. 

The openings I made here nicely held 2 teaspoons of chocolate, your cupcakes might use a little more or less depending on the size you make and the size of your baked cupcakes, if needed you can make more ganache pretty quickly.

Filling Cupcakes with Ganache

Frost the cupcakes with your preferred method. I used a large open tip here and just went right over the top of the filling to lock it inside. 

Christmas Cupcakes

Sprinkle the large crystal sugar around the edges and then place the cupcakes in the freezer for about 20 minutes so the frosting will harden (this step is important).

Sugar Sprinkled Cupcake

After the chilling time, dip the very tops of the cupcakes into the remaining ganache (try not to push in far enough that you will squish the vanilla frosting and change the shape. 

Dipping Cupcakes

Give the thin chocolate layer a couple minutes to set up before adding the leaf and red berry embellishments. 

Aren’t these just the prettiest Christmas cupcakes? I really can’t get over how lovely they turn out, and how simple they really are. Like my daughter said, they look like they came from a fancy bakery. And to make it even better – they taste gourmet as well! 

And guess what? These freeze beautifully!

These are fantastic, fluffy and fun right away OR could be put on a flat tray and set into the freezer for a couple hours to harden the frosting completely, then switch over into a cupcake holder or sealed container and freeze for about 6 weeks. When you’re ready to serve them again simply remove them from the freezer set on plates and allow about 45 minutes for them to thaw before serving (you wont want the ganache centers to be too hard still).

Looking for other fancy (but easy!) Christmas baking ideas? Make sure to check out my MOST Elegant Christmas Tree Cookies Recipe, another of my favorites because they look so fancy but only you will know how easy they really were!

Prettiest Christmas Cupcakes: Ganache Filled Cupcakes from Scratch

Prettiest Christmas Cupcakes: Ganache Filled Cupcakes from Scratch

Yield: 24
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

These Ganache filled cupcakes truly are the prettiest Christmas cupcakes I've ever made or seen!

Ingredients

Ingredients for making Homemade Cupcakes from Scratch

  • ½ cup room temperature, unsalted butter
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1.5 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
  • 1 and ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature
  • Nonstick baking spray to grease the muffin pan

Cupcake Toppings: 

  • ½ cup crystal sugar or sprinkles
  • Wilton’s winter sprinkles for the leaf portion and classic red rounds in two different sizes (both of these are from Wilton and available online or at Michael's Crafts stores - I've also seen them all at Walmart)

Homemade Frosting Ingredients

  • You can use your favorite store bought frosting (get two standard sized containers) or follow the easy one below. I make this while the cupcakes are baking.
  • 3 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla 
  • 3.5 to 5 tablespoons of heavy cream
  • Start by adding a little less heavy cream and then you can always use the rest after if you decide you need it for the consistency you want. Whisk together by hand or use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer until you have a fluffy and smooth texture, cover the bowl with a lid and then set aside until later. 

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients

  • I make this while the cupcakes are cooling down.
  • 1.5 cups quality milk chocolate, I shaved some off of a bar, but bits will work!
  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

    Instructions for making Ganache Filled Cupcakes

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Add the soft butter, sugar, and ½  cup of oil to your mixing bowl, cream together for a few minutes, scraping down the sides.

Pour in the vanilla and eggs at the same time, but slowly

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. 

Alternate slowly mixing in some of the flour and then some of the buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Try your best not to over mix or work the batter!

Coat the muffin pan with a coconut baking spray.

Use an ice cream scoop to fill the wells about ¾ full.

Bake for 17 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees, remove when the cakes have puffed up, spring back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

Instructions for making Ganache

Using a microwave safe glass dish, simply combine the cream and chocolate bits and heat for 30 seconds, stir for a minute, if needed, heat for another 30 seconds and stir again until silky smooth.

Ganache Filled Cupcakes Instructions

Give the cupcakes about 20 minutes to cool (make the ganache during this time). Using a large piping tip, measuring spoon or other small circular item, make round cutouts and then simply scoop out or press down on the cake. Both options work well. 

The openings I made here nicely held 2 teaspoons of chocolate, your cupcakes might use a little more or less depending on the size you make and the size of your baked cupcakes, if needed you can make more ganache pretty quickly.

Frost the cupcakes with your preferred method. I used a large open tip here and just went right over the top of the filling to lock it inside. 

Sprinkle the large crystal sugar around the edges and then place the cupcakes in the freezer for about 20 minutes so the frosting will harden (this step is important).

After the chilling time, dip the very tops of the cupcakes into the remaining ganache (try not to push in far enough that you will squish the vanilla frosting and change the shape. 

Give the thin chocolate layer a couple minutes to set up before adding the leaf and red berry embellishments. 

Notes

Total time with cooling, roughly 1.5 hours.

These are fantastic, fluffy and fun right away OR could be put on a flat tray and set into the freezer for a couple hours to harden the frosting completely, then switch over into a cupcake holder or sealed container and freeze for about 6 weeks. When you’re ready to serve them again simply remove them from the freezer set on plates and allow about 45 minutes for them to thaw before serving (you wont want the ganache centers to be too hard still).

Did you make this recipe?

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Meet the author – Keri Lyn

The creative and frugal mind behind She Saved for over 12 years now, Keri Lyn shares her adventures in parenting along with her love for family travel, country living and brand marketing. A self-proclaimed “brand loyalist”, Keri Lyn is known for her strong and enthusiastic voice when it comes to the products and brands that she loves. She Saved has become a community for like-minded consumers who appreciate saving money, time and sanity by getting the best deals on quality products and experiences.

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