So festive and fun, perfect for passing out to neighbors or bringing to classroom parties. Or eating by the handful while you stare at mindless television.
Yields 2 dozen
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 box Super Moist Chocolate Cake Mix
- 1/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee grounds
Frosting:
- 8 large egg whites
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Chocolate Glaze:
- 1 (12 oz.) bag semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 24 small pretzels
- black cake decorating icing
- red cake decorating icing
Directions
- Preheat oven according to cake packaging directions. Lightly spray cupcake tin with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine cake mix, coffee grounds, water, oil and eggs, and beat together until homogeneous.
- Pour batter into cupcake tins and bake according to packaging directions.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Set up a double boiler by filling a small saucepan with 1-inch full of water.
- In a heat-proof bowl placed on top of the saucepan, vigorously whisk egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar together until sugar is completely dissolved. 3-5 minutes.
- Remove bowl from heat (keeping saucepan on the stove) and beat, slowly moving from low to high speed, until stiff peaks form. 5-7 minutes. Then add vanilla and mix until combined. Frosting should be very glossy.
- Pipe or spoon frosting onto cupcakes.
- Pour chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl and set over simmering saucepan. Pour in heavy cream and sea salt and mix until chips are completely melted and smooth.
- Take cupcakes and dip them, one at a time, in chocolate glaze so that marshmallow frosting is coated.
- Insert pretzels into still drying frosting and set aside.
- Once set, pipe 2 dots of marshmallow frosting on each cupcake. These are the eyes of your reindeer.
- Take your black cake icing and make 2 smaller dots on top of the white dots.
- Use red icing to make 1 larger dot underneath the eyes. This is the nose of the reindeer. Repeat with remaining cupcakes, let set and enjoy!
Recipe from 12tomatoes
