These cupcakes are the ultimate fall and holiday treat, and both easy to make and pretty to look at. The white chocolate frosting perfectly balances the tart cranberry muffin, for a perfect bite of sweet & tart.
The Perfect Balance of Sweet & Tart
If you're looking for the perfect cupcake to make for Thanksgiving or the holidays - this is it. With a sweet white chocolate frosting and tart cranberry muffin, they both taste and look like the perfect fall treat.
Not to mention - they're so easy to make, and you can easily decorate them to suit the occasion. For Thanksgiving I love adding sugar coated cranberries on top, and for Christmas I will add some festive sprinkles as well. For New Year's Eve? Just go wild with the silver sugar balls and sprinkles.
No time for topping? Make these cranberry white chocolate muffins instead!
What You Need to Make Cranberry Muffins + “Fluff”
Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries for this recipe. If you use frozen cranberries, make sure to thaw them first, and drain the liquid.
About the Frosting
We're making a super simple frosting known in the Swedish online baking community as "fluff". Basically, you melt any kind of candy into whipping cream, chill it, and whip it. It firms up really nicely and brings just the right candy flavor you're after.
For this recipe we're melting white chocolate, but you can also use another type of chocolate or any other candy you prefer. I bet these would taste amazing with a Candy Cane fluff frosting a well!
Let's Get Baking!
1. Melt White Chocolate in Whipping Cream
We're going to start by heating up the whipping cream until very hot, but not boiling. This is very important! You need it to be hot enough to melt the chocolate - but if it starts boiling, you will need to start over.
Trust me on this. You don't want to come back after 5 hours and realize your cream won't whip up, which is what will most likely happen if it started boiling.
Just heat it slowly over medium or medium-low heat and you will be fine!
Once the cream is so hot you see steam coming of it, add in the white chocolate in chunks. Stir while the chocolate melts, and once it's all melted remove the pan from the heat. Allow it to cool down in room temperature for 30-60 minutes, then place it covered in the refrigerator.
2. Make Cranberry Muffins
While the frosting is cooling down, you will have plenty of time to make the cranberry muffin base. For detailed instructions and all my tips and tricks, head on over to this post.
Most importantly is to just follow the recipe and make sure to use room temperature ingredients, and mix the butter and sugar really well to start.
Once they're done, set them aside to cool down for now.
3. Whip the Cream
When the frosting has had enough time to cool down (at least 4 hours, but up to 24 hours is fine), bring it out from the fridge and whip just like a regular whipping cream.
It can take a little bit longer than regular cream to whip up, but it should not take MUCH longer. Whip until you've reached your desired consistency. You want it to be pretty stiff to stay on the cupcake.
When you're happy with the consistency, prep an icing bag with the tip of your choice and fill it up with frosting.
4. Now for the Fun Part!
Here comes the best part: decorating! Pipe the frosting onto the cupcake base and decorate any way you like - I recommend sugar-coated cranberries (just rinse the cranberries in water and roll in sugar) and some sprinkles.
Tips For Best Results
The cream absolutely needs to rest and cool down. This step does take a bit of time, so you need to plan accordingly. 4 hours is enough, but you can leave it in the fridge over night as well if you prefer.
Do not let the cream boil. If the cream starts boiling, it's likely you won't be able to get it to whip up as it should. I've been fine when it's just started to simmer slightly, but anything beyond that and you will need to start over. Just take it slow from the start to avoid that.
Let the cupcake base cool down first. If you attempt to frost hot or even slightly warm cupcakes the frosting will melt and make a mess. Just let them cool down completely and this won't happen!
Storing, Freezing & Prepping Ahead
If you know you're going to have leftovers, you can either frost all the cupcakes straight away and store them already frosted, or you can store the frosting separately and just frost them when you want to serve them. Both ways work equally well.
Storing frosted cupcakes: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Storing cranberry cupcake base: Store in a muffin tin or plastic bags for up to 1 week. They are best if eaten within 3 days.
Storing white chocolate frosting: Store in icing bag or a covered bowl in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing the frosted cupcakes or the frosting, but you can freeze the cranberry cupcake base. Freeze in air tight containers or plastic bags for up to 6 months.
Prep ahead: You can make both the frosting and the cupcake base up to 3 days in advance, and even store the cupcakes frosted for up to 3 days.
More Easy Baking Recipes
Recipe
Cranberry Cupcakes
Print RateIngredients
White Chocolate Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups white chocolate
Cranberry Muffins
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature, cut in pieces
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup milk room temperature
- 1.5 cups cranberries fresh or thawed from frozen; see note for frozen
To Decorate (optional)
- fresh cranberries
- sugar
- sprinkles*
Instructions
Prep White Chocolate Whipped Cream
- Heat heavy cream in a pot over medium heat. Be careful so that it doesn't boil at any point. If it does, you will need to start over.2 cups heavy cream
- When the cream is so hot there is steam coming from it, add in the white chocolate in pieces. Allow it to melt and mix continuously.2 cups white chocolate
- When the chocolate is completely melted, remove from the heat and set aside to cool. When cooled, place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- When you want to use the frosting, bring it out from the fridge and whip like a regular whipped cream. You do not need to add any sugar. Spoon into icing bags prepared with the tip of your choice.
Cranberry Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 400 °Fand place muffin liners in a muffin tin or on a baking sheet.
- Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy.½ cup salted butter, ½ cup sugar
- Add eggs and mix well.1 egg
- In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients: flour, vanilla powder and baking powder.1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just enough for it to be well blended.
- Add milk and mix just until smooth. Then fold in the cranberies.½ cup milk, 1.5 cups cranberries
- Bring out the lined muffin tin, and scoop your batter into the muffin liners. Don't fill them more than ⅔ of the way as they will rise.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 16-18 minutes. Test with a cake tester or tooth pick – it should come out with no or very little cake batter when they are done.
- When done, set aside to cool completely before decorating.
Decorating
- Roll cranberries in sugar.fresh cranberries, sugar
- Pipe frosting on top each cupcake, then decorate with cranberries rolled in sugar. You can also add sprinkles or other decorations you prefer.sprinkles*
Equipment (may contain affiliate links)
- Measuring cups (metric or US)*
- Wilton 2A decorating tip* or other decorating tip
- Tooth pick or cake tester
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.
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