These Christmas trees are SO gorgeous – and there's a little present hiding beneath the branches! We've put them on a base of chocolate muffins with ice cream cones, frosting and decór – and Smarties hiding under the tree. Enjoy!

Directions

Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees fan assisted.

2. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl: Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla sugar and salt.

3. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl: Egg, brewed coffee, buttermilk and sunflower oil. Whisk well, then add the dry ingredients. Whisk on full whack for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the batter to the muffin tin – fill each form about 2/3rds of the way. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, until no batter sticks when poked with a knitting needle.

5. While the muffins are baking, get the frosting ready.

6. Remove muffins from the oven and let cool.

Top and frosting

7. Cut butter into smaller chunks and whisk until softened. Add powdered and vanilla sugar and whisk until even. Add cream cheese and whisk in until lump free.

8. Add lemon juice to taste. Divide the frosting in two, so 1/5 remains white. Mix the remained with green food colouring until you have the desired Christmas tree shade. Refrigerate the frost for about 15 minutes.

9. While the frosting cools, get the cones ready. If your cones have an angle at the top, carefully break off bits of the edge to straighten them out.

10. Add the frosting to two piping (or freezer) bags. The green frosting goes in a piping bag with a star tip, and the white goes in a bag without tip – just cut a small hole in the bag, about 1 cm in diameter.

11. Pipe a white ring along the edges of the muffins, with a gap in the centre. Fill the gap with Smarties.

12. Attach the cones to the muffins with the opening down, so it covers the Smarties. Pipe green frosting onto the cones and spread into a thin layer with a knife.

13. Now, start from the base of the cone and pipe on little tips of green frosting all the way to the top. Decorate with any and all sprinkles you like, to emulate Christmas ornaments.

14. Refrigerate the trees until serving. Enjoy!

Tip

Tasks for younger kids in the kitchen: Let your kids help add ingredients to the bowl. They can also whisk the batter, butter, and mix frosting.