These cupcakes are full of Christmas flavour and a perfect excuse to spend time baking over the Christmas break. This recipe makes 12, they are really easy to make. I've used My Cupcake Set from Debenhams which includes a cupcake baking tray, cupcake cases and cake toppers. The icing is the hardest and messiest bit. I'd recommend getting a good piping bag at the ready to make life a little easier.

You'll need...
For the cupcakes...
100g Butter
100g Caster sugar
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1 Orange
2 Eggs
50g Dark Chocolate
125g Self-Raising Flour
My Cupcake Set, Exclusive to Debenhams

For the icing...
350g icing sugar
150g butter
Orange food colouring gel
Edible silver balls
Edible glitter
Piping bag & nozzle

To Make...
Beat the sugar and butter together, add the cocoa powder, grate in half of the zest of the orange and squeeze in 2 teaspoons of the juice.


Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and then add to the mixture.
Whisk the eggs together and mix into the mixture well.
Then fold in the flour gently.


Preheat the oven to 170oC
Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, fill just over half way.
Bake in the oven for 20mins, allow to cool.


Make your buttercream icing in the meantime, sift the icing sugar into a bowl.
Mix in the butter and food colouring until it turns a soft orange tone.
Grate in some of the orange zest.


Put into a piping bag and squeeze onto the cupcakes
Decorate with cupcake toppers from the My Cupcake Set, silver balls and edible glitter.
They will keep for a couple of days so you can make them just before you visit relatives over the Christmas season.