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twice upon a christmas cupcake featured
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Twice Upon a Cupcake Copycat

This fun Christmas tree cupcake is a copycat of your favorite Magic Kingdom Christmas Cupcake! With a funfetti top, delicious vanilla buttercream, a red velvet hidden mickey and made to look like a pretty Christmas tree!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 24 cupcakes
Calories 761kcal
Author Lisa

Ingredients

  • 1 Box of Funfetti Cake Mix plus oil, egg whites and water
  • 1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix plus oil, eggs and water
  • 1 Box White Cake Mix plus oil, egg whites and water
  • 1 Batch Vanilla Buttercream
  • 1 Batch Green Buttercream
  • ¼ cup water
  • Black Decorating Gel or Black Buttercream*
  • Wilton 22 Piping Tip
  • Piping Bags
  • Light Bulb Sprinkles
  • cupcake liners

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 5 tbs heavy cream
  • Pinch salt

Green Buttercream Ingredients

  • 2 cups unsalted butter
  • 10 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs vanilla
  • 10 tbs heavy cream
  • Pinch Salt
  • Green Food Gel

Instructions

Red Velvet Cake

  • Follow the instructions on the box for making the red velvet cake batter and bake according to the box instructions. If you want your cake to bake a little quick, bake in a greased large rimmed baking sheet @350 for 10-12 minutes until fully baked.
    1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix
    red velvet batter in pan
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.
    baked red velvet cake

Funfetti cupcake toppers:

  • Follow the instructions on the box for making the funfetti cake batter and bake 24 cupcakes according to the box instructions. I like to use cupcake liners in my cupcake pan but that’s up to you.
    1 Box of Funfetti Cake Mix
    funfetti cupcakes baked
  • Once baked, allow to cool, then cut into cone shapes.*
    cutting a cone
  • I like to carefully cut at an angle to form a cone. It might take a little practice to get really good at making a cone shape- but it won’t be a big deal once everything is frosted!
    funfettie cone close up

Vanilla Cupcakes with the Hidden Mickey:

  • Follow the instructions on the box for making the white cake batter.
    1 Box White Cake Mix
    small amount of batter in bottom of cupcake liner
  • Crumble your red velvet cake in a large bowl and add ½ cup of the white cake batter and ¼ cup water to it. Stir until fully combined.
    ¼ cup water
    making red velvet crumble
  • In a lined cupcake tin place a small about of white cupcake batter. Enough to cover the bottom.
    base cupcakes before baking
  • Then take a small amount of the red velvet cake mixture and roll it into a ball. Place the ball in the center of the cupcake tin on top of the white cupcake batter.
    red velvet balls in cupcake batter
  • Take some more of the red velvet cake mixture and roll into a thin log, then connect the two ends forming a circle. Place the circle on top of the red velvet ball.
    making red velvet circles
  • Spoon more white cupcake batter over the top of the cupcake- it just need to cover the top- don’t worry about filling up the sides.
    adding batter to top of circle
  • Bake cupcakes at 350°F for 14 minutes or until the they are fully baked. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
    cupcake liners
    baked cupcakes

Frosting

  • While cupcakes are cooling make frosting.
    1 cup unsalted butter, 5 cups powdered sugar, 1 tbs vanilla, 5 tbs heavy cream, Pinch salt, 1 Batch Vanilla Buttercream
    white frosting in piping bag
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, 10 cups powdered sugar, 2 tbs vanilla, 10 tbs heavy cream, Pinch Salt, Green Food Gel, 1 Batch Green Buttercream

How to decorate the Twice Upon a Cupcake:

  • Using white buttercream and a piping bag with the tip cut off, pipe a layer of white buttercream onto every baked white cupcake with the hidden mickeys.
    white frosting base
  • Then press a funfetti cone onto each frosted cupcake.
    adding the funfetti cone
  • Using the Wilton 22 Piping Tip in a piping bag with green buttercream, pipe on the tree.
    Wilton 22 Piping Tip, Piping Bags
    adding the tree frosting
  • Then using your black decorating gel, pipe on a string that spirals around the tree.
    Black Decorating Gel or Black Buttercream*
    adding light string to cupcake tree
  • Gently press on the light bulbs and enjoy!
    Light Bulb Sprinkles
    Twice Upon a Cupcake final look

Video

Notes

Tips and Tricks
  • I used black gel because that is what I had on hand, you can find it at your grocery store in the baking aisle or the cake decorating isle. However, it doesn’t dry and will always be messy. If you want to make black buttercream and pipe that on instead (using a small piping tip) you can find add black food gel to homemade chocolate frosting or use store bought black buttercream (found in the cake decorating isle)
  • Use leftover funfetti cupcake pieces and make my easy cake pops! (You don’t want to do this with leftover red velvet cake because it has raw vanilla cupcake batter in it.)

Nutrition

Calories: 761kcal | Carbohydrates: 120g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 421mg | Potassium: 92mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 99g | Vitamin A: 847IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2mg