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White Chocolate Cream Cranberry Cupcakes

Candy Ornament Cupcakes Wreath lizbushong.com
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Vanilla Cupcakes filled with cranberry cream cheese, frosted with white chocolate buttercream frosting.  A Candy Melt Ornament tops the cupcake for Christmas Ball.

Ingredients

Scale

Standard Size Cupcakes

1– Classic Duncan Hines White Cake Mix

1– 3 ounce package white chocolate instant pudding mix-dry

3 egg whites

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1–1/3 cups water

1 teaspoon orange extract

Cranberry Filling

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1–8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate chips or melting wafers

1–1/4 sticks salted butter, softened

3– 4 cups confectioner’s sugar

2–4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or as needed

Candy Ornaments

2–3 cups melted red candy melts

3/4 cup tiny white nonpareils

24 Mini Nutter Butter Cookies

1 cup white chocolate melting wafers or chips

Red edible disco glitter dust

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
  2. Prepare cranberry filling:  In small saucepan, add cranberries, sugar and water, stir until sugar and cranberries pop and mixture thickens. Remove from heat and chill 15 minutes.  In mixing bowl, add cranberry compote, cream cheese, and orange extract, beat until smooth.  Fill pastry bag with no tip, with cranberry cream cheese mixture. Set aside.
  3. Prepare cupcakes; In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, water and extract until blended about 2 minutes.Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely.
  4. Prepare buttercream frosting; melt white chocolate wafers in microwave at 25 second intervals until melted and smooth. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add softened butter and melted white chocolate. Beat until smooth, add confectioners sugar, and cream. Set aside until ready to assemble cupcakes.
  5. Prepare Candy Ornaments; melt red candy melts in microwave at 25 second intervals until melted and smooth.  Pour 2 teaspoons in  2″ half sphere round silicone mold, with paint brush, brush melts up the sides of mold. Use thin coats at first and chill until set. Repeat process 2-3 times to get even coat. Chill 10 minutes or longer, remove from refrigerator and wait 2 minutes before removing shells from mold.  Set aside shells for assembly.
  6. Assembly:  Cut small center out of cupcakes using a round 1/2″ piping tip or other small round cutter removing the center cake from cupcake. Do not cut all the way through the cupcake.
  7. Pipe cranberry filling in center of cupcakes level with top of cupcake.
  8. Spread frosting in thin layer over cupcakes making sure you coat the outer rim of cupcakes. Dip cupcake in white nonpareils around the edge of the cupcakes. Place remaining frosting in piping bag fitted with tip 1M, pipe swirls over cupcake.  sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles if desired.
  9. Place candy shell on top of cupcakes, gently press shell into frosting. Sprinkle with edible disco glitter dust.
  10. Melt white candy melts in microwave 25 second intervals until melted and smooth, dip mini nutter butters in coating, coat entire cookie.  Place on wax paper to set. This is the cap on the ornament.
  11. Attach frosting to set cookie on side of ornament.
  12. Store cupcakes in refrigerator due to cranberry cream cheese filling for up to 2-3 days.

Notes

If the disco dust doesn’t want to stick, brush light corn syrup over top of ornament then sprinkle with dust.  Mine stuck fine, as I didn’t want it completely covered.

When serving the ornaments, place the cupcakes in fresh cupcake liners for cleaner presentation.

Find it online: https://lizbushong.com/white-chocolate-cream-cranberry-cupcakes/