Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes

Feeling all the feelings as I type this intro!

Exactly 1 year ago (to the day!), I shared a recipe for white chocolate peppermint cupcakes. In that post, you got a glimpse of my first few days back at work from maternity leave. “Back at work” meant working in my home while caring for my newborn, Noelle. Working/mom-ing felt impossible. I forgot to add sugar to a chocolate cake, lost my left shoe, and went a little bonkers about green swirled frosting. Seems so silly, but I was trying my best in my new role as a working mother. It was really hard for me.

Fast forward one year. Noelle is now 15 months old, running through the house, her sweet giggles echoing in the hallways as she “plays” with the dogs, and our wonderful babysitter here so I can work. All this to say… what a difference a year makes. I wish I could tell 2017 Sally that everything will be ok. New parents, you eventually figure it all out. 🙂

And you’ll find your left shoe!!

I love it each holiday season when the Christmas Classic, The Nutcracker, comes to life. I am a huge fan of the world of dance. While I am a far cry from being close to a professional, the Nutcracker music itself gets me dancing around the house as if I should be on stage. Don’t worry though, that is not going to happen. I just like to relive my youthful ballet, jazz and tap days in the privacy of my own home. This week is the official Christmas kick-off here and I am starting things off on a sweet note with these Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes. I have a lot of delicious sweets, treats and Christmas craft ideas to share with you over the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Make sure you sign up for my email list so you can get notifications for all these posts.

These cupcakes were inspired by the new Disney Movie The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. They are perfect for any holiday party you may be having. It’s a nice change from the traditional Christmas cookie too. For the recipe, I simply doctored up a box of cake mix but you can make them from scratch. My favorite scratch vanilla cupcake is this Vanilla Bake Shop Cupcake recipe. This is one of the very first recipes I shared here when I first started the blog. You will notice how old the post is by how bad my photography skills were – Ha! I would definitely say that my photo taking skills have improved.

Ingredients
Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup honey
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1/4 cup walnut oil or other vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1 cup walnuts finely chopped and toasted
• 1/4 cup prunes finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dried apricots finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dates finely chopped

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 1/4 cup pulp-free orange juice
• Plum disco dust I got mine from Layer Cake Shopc

Instructions
Cake Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix honey and butter for about two minutes on medium speed until fully combined.
3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and coriander and mix until just combined.
4. Mix in eggs, one at a time.
5. Mix in oil.
6. Mix in orange juice.
7. Fold in nuts, prunes, apricots, and dates.
8. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out dry.

Frosting Directions

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix butter on high speed for three minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in powdered sugar a little bit at a time.
3. Mix in coriander and orange juice.
4. Pipe on cooled cupcakes.
5. Sprinkle with disco dust.

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