Go Back

Snowman Cupcakes

These adorable snowman cupcakes are the perfect decoration for your Christmas table or great treats to serve during Advent.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 12 people
Calories 3515.1 kcal

Equipment

  • 2 Mixing Bowls For crumbling cake and mixing fondant.
  • 1 Spatula For mixing cake crumbles with frosting and frosting cupcakes.
  • 1 Paring Knife For trimming cupcake tops and attaching small details.
  • 1 Kitchen Scissors For cutting licorice laces.

Ingredients
  

Main

  • 24 unfrosted vanilla cupcakes divided
  • 1 16 ounce package vanilla frosting, divided
  • 4 black licorice laces
  • 6 red licorice laces
  • 1 ounce ready-to-use white fondant
  • 1 drop orange food coloring
  • 48 candy-coated milk chocolate pieces such as M&M's®

Instructions
 

  • Trim the dry top off 12 of the cupcakes and crumble the soft cake interiors into a bowl. Add about 5 ounces of vanilla icing and mix well. Add more frosting if needed to bring the mixture together into a ball so that it can be easily shaped. Cover bowl and chill cake mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  • Frost remaining 12 cupcakes with a thin layer of white vanilla frosting.
  • Remove cake mixture and roll with wet hands into 2 different sized balls for the snowmen's torsos and heads, 12 bigger balls and 12 smaller balls. Stick a small ball on top of a big ball to make the snowman, using some frosting if the balls are not very sticky. Place snowmen onto frosted cupcakes.
  • Cut black licorice laces into small squares for the eyes and mouth using scissors and attach them with the tip of a knife to the head.
  • Mix white fondant with orange food coloring to turn it orange and make little carrot noses out of the orange fondant. Press into the snowman faces.
  • Attach 2 dark colored candy-coated milk chocolate pieces into the torso and cupcake as buttons. Attach 2 candy-coated milk chocolate pieces on either side of the head and connect them with a piece of black licorice for the earmuffs.
  • Cut red licorice laces into 2 1/2-inch long pieces and wrap around the snowman's neck as a scarf.

Notes

To achieve perfectly shaped snowman bodies, ensure the cake-frosting mixture is well-chilled and firm before rolling. Lightly moisten your hands when shaping the balls to prevent sticking and create a smoother finish. For attaching small details like licorice eyes or fondant noses, a tiny dot of extra vanilla frosting or edible glue provides secure adhesion. For optimal presentation and efficiency, pre-cut all licorice pieces and shape the fondant noses before beginning the final assembly of the snowmen on the cupcakes.