What Oven Temperature Do I Use For The Christmas Cupcakes?

Our answer

Nigella's Christmas Cupccakes (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) are seasonally-spiced chocolate cupcakes that are topped with royal icing and decorated with berries and cut-out leaves made from rolled fondant icing.

The oven temperature is slightly higher than normal for cakes, but this is due to the cake batter being quite liquid. For smaller cupcakes and muffins you can bake at a higher temperature as they are not usually in the oven for long enough to cause the edges to burn. If you have a dark muffin pan and are worried then you could bake the cupcakes at 350F, but bear in mind that the baking time could be longer. The sponges should be risen, firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted into the centre should come out with damp crumbs attached, but not raw cake batter. You could make the decorations from marzipan, but we suggest that they are added not too far in advance as the oils from marzipan can tend to seep out and this could cause some discolouration on the royal icing. Or make the marzipan decorations and leave them on a wire rack for a day or so to dry out before using them.