Steps

• To prepare the Christmas cupcakes, start by preparing the base.
  In a bowl, dissolve the cocoa with hot (not boiling) water and stir with a hand whisk or a fork until well dissolved. Let it cool, meanwhile, in another bowl, work with electric beaters the butter at room temperature together with the sugar and the egg. Then add the sifted flour, along with the baking powder, vanillin, and a pinch of salt. Continue working with the beaters at low speed and add the dissolved cocoa, a little at a time. Work until you get a homogeneous mixture.

  Now take the muffin pan and insert 12 cupcake liners. Fill the liners 2/3 full with the cocoa mixture.

  Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 20/25 minutes. Do the toothpick test.

  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

• While waiting for the cupcake base to cool completely, start preparing the frosting.

  In a bowl, add the mascarpone and green food coloring and work with the beaters. Alternatively, for green food coloring, you can combine the two primary colors, blue and yellow, to create green. Usually, instructions are found on the package to create the right tone. I used blue and yellow gel colors from Paneangeli.

  As soon as the mascarpone is the desired shade, in a second bowl, whip the cold cream from the fridge. Once whipped, add the colored mascarpone and mix well to obtain a homogeneous frosting. If necessary, add more coloring.

  Now make a small hole at the center of the cocoa base. Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle with the frosting and proceed to create small trees on the cupcake base. Decorate with colored sprinkles.

• Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days.

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