Japanese Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes, #SundaySupper

Clap your hands if you believe in fairies! Sugar plum fairies from The Nutcracker!  Ballet in Japan is a big after-school activity. Many Japanese moms chauffeur or take trains with their ballerina princesses to class. So, The Nutcracker is a familiar figure on stage and in stores at Christmas time in Japan.

Need a Nutcracker ballet refresher?  In a nutshell (tee hee): Toys around the Christmas tree come alive at midnight. Including young Clara’s beloved Nutcracker. He leads his soldiers against the Mouse King and his thugs. The Nutcracker fights valiantly but is captured. All is lost…until Clara zonks the Mouse King on the head with a slipper. The Nutcracker turns into a prince. He rewards Clara with a trip to the Land of Snow and Land of Sweets.

The King and Queen of the Land of Snow pas de deux give Frozen princess fans a run for their money. The Sugar Plum Fairy, ruler of The Land of Sweets is quite enchanting, too. Tchaikovsky’s music carries magic from the rise to the fall of the theatre curtain. It’s no wonder that The Nutcracker is a revered worldwide ballet.  Even if you’re not a ballet fan, The Nutcracker is a must-see.

Japanese Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes are my contribution to the Sunday Supper Movement Best Holiday Dessert Recipes celebration. With a Japanese bento veggie cutter, I created Japanese Sugar Plum Fairy wands for the cupcakes. (A mini cookie cutter will do the trick, too.) The Japanese Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes’ frosting is spiked with Japanese plum wine. If you have children, tart cherry juice is a yummy substitute. Or make two batches of frosting: One for the grownups and another for the children. But, make sure you don’t get them mixed up! Spiked with Japanese plum wine or not, buttercream frosting and cake are always magical.

Japanese Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes

The Nutcracker Sugar Plum Fairy cupcake Japanese easy recipe

The Nutcracker ballet is a magical holiday delight. Tchaikovsky's ballet enchants audiences around the world. As a tribute to the Sugar Plum Fairy, I've created a cupcake which dances sweet and light into the tummy. Japanese plum wine is delicious and may have you doing pirouettes. It's a great addition to vanilla frosting...But it is alcohol. So, if you have children, use tart cherry juice which is just as scrumptious...and pink!  

Ingredients: 
  • Cupcakes
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening
  • ½ cup butter
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (plus more for the fondant)
  • 4 T Japanese plum wine (or tart cherry juice)
  • 1 (4 oz) package of pink fondant
Directions: 

Bake cupcakes… Cherry Chip Blossom Cupcakes or Chocolate Cupcakes are excellent choices.

Whip up the shortening and butter in a kitchen stand mixer. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Pour in the Japanese plum wine (or tart cherry juice.)

Frost cooled cupcakes with the Japanese plum wine buttercream.

Roll out the pink fondant between 2 sheets of wax paper sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Carefully cut out cherry blossom or star shapes with a Japanese veggie cutter or a cookie cutter. Insert a toothpick into the fondant cherry blossom.

Tuck into a cupcake and tie with pink ribbons.

T.R.  of Gluten-Free Crumbley hosts this scrumptious spread of sweets.

Bars and Cookies

Cakes

Cheesecakes

Drinks

Pastries

Puddings and Creams

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

 

 

Follow on Bloglovin

 

 

Tags: 
#Japanese #Nutcracker #ballet #fairy #cupcakes #SundaySupper #recipe