I may not be the first to do this, and I definitely won’t be the last – but brandy buttercream is now officially the idea that I am most proud of. Brandy butter is one of my favourite Christmas treats, so I thought I’d see how it tasted as part of a buttercream topping for cupcakes. As you’ll soon discover if you try this recipe, it tastes amazing. With the addition of crushed amaretti biscuits, these cupcakes are a gloriously boozy grown-up treat for the festive season.

100g salted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
2 tsps vanilla bean paste
2 large free range eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsps milk

100g salted butter, softened
50g brandy buter
280g icing sugar

5 or 6 amaretti biscuits

Cupcakes:

1. Pre heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 (conversions here) and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl using a wooden spoon then add the vanilla bean paste and beat until combined.
3. Gradually add the eggs (adding a teaspoon of the flour each time you add more egg) and mix well.
4. Sift in the remaining flour and baking powder and mix until you have a cake batter.
5. Add the milk to loosen the mixture up and mix one last time!
6. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean).

Decoration:

1. Cut the butter into large cubes and throw into a mixing bowl with the brandy butter, sift in the icing sugar and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
2. Top your cakes with buttercream once they’ve cooled – you could use fancy tools but I just make pretty swirls with a fork, much lower maintenance.
3. Put your amaretti biscuits in a freezer back and bash with a wooden spoon until you’ve got uneven pieces (some crumbs, some rocks).

Your track recommendation for this recipe is (duh) an awesome Christmas song from She & Him – you should check out their Chrimbo album if you haven’t heard it already!

What are your favourite cupcake flavours for Christmas? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading x