Christmas wreath cupcakes recipe

This has to be one of the prettiest ways to decorate a festive cupcake and as it only requires a star-shaped piping nozzle, it's one of the simplest too. If you don't fancy piping a ribbon on each wreath you can tie a thin ribbon into a bow instead

Makes 12

Ingredients

1 quantity buttermilk cupcakes or red velvet cupcakes (see below)
1 quantity meringue buttercream (see below)
Green food colouring paste
Red food colouring paste

Equipment

1–2 muffin tins, lined with 12 green paper cupcake cases
Large piping bag, fitted with a star-shaped nozzle
Small piping bag, fitted with a writing nozzle

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Divide the cupcake mixture between the cases, filling them two-thirds full.
Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spoon one-third of the meringue buttercream into a bowl and tint green using the food colouring paste. Put another 2 tablespoons into another, small bowl, and tint red. Leave the remainder untinted. Spread the untinted frosting generously onto each cold cupcake.
Take the piping bag with the star-shaped nozzle and fill with the green frosting. Pipe small rosettes in a wreath shape on top of each cake.
Fill the piping bag with the writing nozzle with the red frosting and pipe small red berries around the wreath, and a ribbon at the top.