Santa Leg Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes, filling paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; cool completely. , Tint 2/3 cup frosting red with food coloring. Place 3 tablespoons white frosting in a food-safe plastic bag; cut a 1/4-in. hole in one corner and reserve for piping., Use remaining white frosting to cover two-thirds of each cupcake. For hats, cover remaining third of each cupcake with red frosting. Pipe fur trim with white frosting; add marshmallows for pompoms. Decorate with M&M's, Red Hots and jimmies for faces; add coconut for beards.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Grease 9-inch square pan with shortening; coat with flour (do not use cooking spray). Lightly grease 1 muffin cup in mini muffin pan and 1 muffin cup in regular-size muffin pan.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour cake batter into 1 mini muffin cup, and 1 regular-size muffin cup, filling two-thirds full. Pour remaining batter into square pan. Bake cupcakes 11 to 14 minutes, square 47 to 53 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from muffin cups and pan; place rounded sides up on cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour. If necessary, cut off rounded tops of cakes.
• Meanwhile, reserve 1/2 cup of the white frosting in small bowl and 1/4 cup of the chocolate frosting in another small bowl.
• Place square cake layer, rounded side down, on serving plate. Frost with remaining chocolate frosting.
• Place regular cupcake, rounded side down, on cake. Place chocolate sugar wafers on their side around the cupcake, using reserved chocolate frosting to hold them in place around the cupcake, to form the chimney. Stack wafers, cutting as necessary to look like bricks, to make 2 layers of cookies on 4 sides of the cupcake.
• Cut mini cupcake in half at an angle. In small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the reserved white frosting with red gel food color as desired to get deep red color. Place cupcake at an angle at top of chimney, and frost with red frosting. Sprinkle with red sugar. Press cut miniature marshmallows against bottom of red frosted cupcake. This is Santa's behind.
• Microwave chewy chocolate candies on High 3 to 8 seconds, just until moldable. Firmly press on ends of red licorice sticks, and shape into boots. Press licorice ends into chimney cupcake to make Santa's legs.
• Spoon remaining reserved frosting into resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut tiny tip from 1 corner of bag, and pipe white frosting and snow on chimney, and fur around tops of boots.
• Generously spread and mound remaining fluffy white frosting to look like snow drifts over cake, coming up against the chimney in mounds.
• To make Santa's bag, wrap marshmallow with red fruit snack, pinching up at one end to form bag shape. Using paring knife, cut green strip out of rainbow-berry flavor sweet-sour chewy licorice. Wrap green candy strip around top of Santa's bag, and gently tie it onto the bag.
• Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar and then with coarse sugar to look like freshly fallen snow. Store loosely covered.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line bun tins with paper cake cases. Put all the ingredients for the cupcakes in a large bowl using 4 tbsp of the orange juice, then beat together for 1-2 mins until smooth.
• Spoon the cake mix into the cases, so they are three-quarters full. Bake for 15-18 mins or until golden and firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack.
• For the icing, beat the butter, vanilla and icing sugar until pale and creamy, adding 1-2 tbsp warm water to loosen, if needed. Ice the cakes with a palette knife or use a piping bag to create swirls deep enough to hold the Santa and elf legs.
• For the legs, make a batch of fondant icing following the pack instructions. Cut the candy canes and pencil sweets into 4cm lengths. Use green fondant icing to mould elf boots around the candy cane legs and black fondant icing to mould Santa boots around the strawberry pencil legs. Add some white fondant around the top of Santa boots. Use the made-up fondant icing to stick a silver or gold ball onto each toe of the elf boots. Let the boots dry completely. Use our chimney template, to make paper sleeves to wrap around the cupcake cases. Push the legs into the cupcakes just before serving.