Gingerbread man cupcakes
Lauren Jepsen MaceTake the cake-cutting out of your holiday by serving these whimsical gingerbread cupcakes.

Start with a batch of Fluffy Yellow Cupcakes and one batch of Buttercream Frosting for Decorating. (If using store-bought frosting, I recommend Duncan Hines, which has a good consistency. Do not use whipped frosting, which tends to droop.)

Gather the following supplies, then get started.
  • M&M's, Skittles or other small colorful candies
  • Miniature chocolate chips
  • Large gumdrops
  • Brown and black food coloring (such as Wilton food coloring gel)
  • Pastry bag with cake tips (#5 and #10)
  • Metal spatula
After you've finished checking out this cake, be sure to see our other Christmas desserts, including a whimsical Santa Cake, Gail Simmons's Christmas dessert ideas, and our Classic Christmas dessert recipes. Get holiday decorating inspiration over at Holidash.

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Lauren Jepsen Mace
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Arrange seven cupcakes to make the gingerbread body and head, as pictured. Put a dab of frosting on the bottom of each cupcake to prevent them from sliding when you ice them. (You will have enough cupcakes to make three gingerbread people, with three cupcakes left over.)
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Lauren Jepsen Mace
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Prepare Frosting: Mix three to four cups frosting with brown food coloring. Mix a very small amount of frosting with black food coloring. Leave the rest of the frosting white.

Using a pastry bag and a #10 cake tip, pipe brown frosting around the edge of the cupcake gingerbread man, then work your way in, filling in the middle until the top of the cupcakes are completely covered. Smooth. Tip: Lightly wet the spatula to make frosting easier to spread. You will have to wet the spatula a few times during the smoothing process.
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Lauren Jepsen Mace
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Pipe the Border: Using a pastry bag and a #5 cake tip, pipe a white border around each gingerbread person, complete with zigzags on their feet and hands. Make three vertical dots on their chests and two dots for their eyes.

Make the Eyes: Stick two miniature chocolate chips upside-down into the dots you made for eyes to create pupils.

Make the Buttons: Stick Skittles, M&M's, or other colored candy onto the three vertical dots to create buttons.

Make the Bow: Cut a large gumdrop in half. Cut the halved gumdrop diagonally to create two triangular pieces for a bow. Repeat for each gingerbread person. Stick the bow in the desired location on each gingerbread person. Using your pastry bag and #5 cake tip, pipe two dots in the center of each bow. Fasten a Skittle or M&M to each dot to create the bow center.

Make the Smile: Using a pastry bag and #5 cake tip, pipe a black smile onto each gingerbread person.