These sugar plum fairy cupcakes are based on the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker! They have a lightly spiced vanilla cupcake base that's filled with sugar plum jam, then topped with festive Christmas candies!
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What are Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes?
These sugar plum fairy cupcakes are inspired by the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker!
Technically "sugar plums" aren't plums at all and were actually a small hard candy that were covered in sugar. So these cupcakes are light, sweet, and filled with plum jam but then topped with a ton of fun Christmas candies!
You might also like these sugared cranberry cupcakes or these peppermint bark cupcakes!
Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make these sugar plum fairy cupcakes!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Sour Cream - I love adding sour cream to baked goods because it keeps them super light and moist! You can also substitute plain full-fat yogurt or milk instead!
Plum Jam - You can have sugar plum fairy cupcakes without plum jam! You can use your favorite store-bought brand of jam or make your own!
Candy - Since "sugar plums" are actually a type of candy, I like topping these cupcakes with a ton of fun Christmas candies and treats! You can use candy canes, gumdrops, sprinkles, or whatever you prefer!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined.
Then whisk in the sour cream and milk.
Then gently fold in the flour mixture until fully combined and smooth.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
Let cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
If desired, use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of plum jam.
Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with sprinkles and candy.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
Use a cupcake corer to easily remove the center of your cupcakes before filling with plum jam.
For these big beautiful frosting swirls on these sugar plum cupcakes, I use the 9FT tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
There are lots of fun garnish options for these sugar plum fairy cupcakes!
- Gumdrops
- Sprinkles
- Peppermints or candy canes
- Mini dehydrated marshmallows
- Snowflake cookies or gingerbread men
- Fairy toppers or snowflake toppers
- Pink or gold luster powder
- Sugared cranberries
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. I recommend storing without the candy garnishes and adding just before serving.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, optional
- ⅓ cup sour cream, substitute plain yogurt
- ¼ cup whole milk
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons plum jam, optional
- 2-4 tablespoons milk, as needed
Filling & Garnish
- ¼ cup plum jam
- round peppermints
- gumdrops
- snowflake sprinkles
- mini dehydrated marshmallows
- pink luster powder, optional
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined.
- Then whisk in the sour cream and milk.
- Then gently fold in the flour mixture until fully combined and smooth.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
- Let cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
- If desired, use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of plum jam.
Frosting
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time until fully combined and smooth.
- If needed, add in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Then add in the plum jam and beat the frosting on high for 4-5 minutes until lightly and fluffy.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with sprinkles and candy.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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