Cupcakes for a Christmas Party

Last night we went to a Christmas party at my husband's work where we had to bring a dessert. I used this opportunity to practice cupcakes (Red Velvet aka Crimson Velveteen from VCTOTW) and to make a kind I'd never made before (Orange Pudding filled, also from VCTOTW). 


For the Crimson Velveteen I decided to make the regular buttercream instead of the suggested frosting, just because I wanted to be able to use it on the orange cuppers, in case I decided to do so. I made some swirls (I think I need a bigger star tip) and I tried making tiny star flowers.





The orange cupcakes were filled with orange pudding. The book suggested topping the cuppers with orange marmalade and chocolate ganache - I made a few that style and then topped the rest with the buttercream, to which I'd added orange juice, orange zest, and cloves. 





I brought about 25 cupcakes to the party and left with one, so, victory! They weren't marked as vegan because I know marking baked goods as vegan never goes well, so I'm a secret vegan cupcake baker. 


The other day I tried the jelly donut filled cuppers from V'con and I didn't like them as much, and they weren't a hit at the husband's work either. They were a tiny bit dry so I may have overcooked them - I'm so scared of gooey centered baked goods.