Antler Cupcakes - chocolate cupcakes topped with swirls of chocolate and vanilla buttercream, finished with chocolate antlers for the perfect woodland-inspired treat.

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I first made these Antler Cupcakes for my nephew's woodland creatures' first birthday. They went alongside the Tree Stump Smash Cake.
The Antler Cupcakes were such a big success with the woodland creatures theme and the party guests that I felt it imperative to make them again to share on SBS.
Thankfully, these Antler Cupcakes are pretty easy to make and don't require too many tools of the trade. Plus, aren't they just the most fun?!
Step-by-Step Directions for Antler Cupcakes
Step 1 | Chocolate Swirl

The first step is to give your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe its base signature swirl. This base signature swirl can be either chocolate buttercream or vanilla buttercream; you'll just use the opposite frosting in the next step.
For easy explanation, we'll be doing what I did, using chocolate buttercream.
Using a pastry bag filled with chocolate buttercream and fitted with a 1M open star piping tip, you're going to pipe a chocolate swirl onto your cupcake.
To achieve your chocolate swirl you'll use even pressure, starting in the middle of your cupcake, and then work your way around and up. It's easier to do than explain.
Step 2 | White Swirl
The second step of Antler Cupcakes is the same as the first step except you'll use the opposite frosting flavor and pipe a smaller swirl - in this case, we'll now be using vanilla buttercream AND our piping bag will be fitted with a no.22 open star piping tip.
You can use the 1M open star piping tip for this step instead of the no.22 open star piping tip. It just comes down to personal preference and how many 1M piping tips you have. I have only one and since it's being used to pipe the chocolate buttercream, I opted for the no.22 piping tip.
So, you're now piping a smaller vanilla buttercream swirl on top of your chocolate buttercream swirl. You'll use the same technique as in the previous step but smaller.
We are mounding on the frosting here because it's the BEST that way! It's the only way! #justsaying
Step 3 | Chocolate Antlers
The final step and arguably the most important step of Antler Cupcakes is the chocolate antlers.
I made both chocolate antlers and white chocolate antlers for my nephew's party and alternated buttercreams, however, for SBS I stayed with chocolate antlers.
For the chocolate antlers you're going to download, enlarge to 120%, and print this template that Bakerella made for her Oh Deer! Mini Cupcakes.
You'll place the template under parchment paper and then trace it with a piping bag filled with melted chocolate. I used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers.
Allow your chocolate antlers to set, separate from the parchment paper, and then safely set aside until you are ready to decorate your Antler Cupcakes.
Add chocolate antlers to a vanilla buttercream swirl or white chocolate antlers to a chocolate buttercream swirl. You're shooting for alternating colors here.
There you have it, Antler Cupcakes. How much do you love them? I hope you're enjoying them as much as the birthday party guests did! 🙂
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