Begin by preparing the sugared rosemary trees. Place the sugar and water into a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until dissolved. Gently simmer the syrup for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool down.

Trim your rosemary sprigs into 4-6cm pieces. Working with the pieces the ‘wrong’ way round (i.e. with the leaves pointing downwards), remove excess leaves from the bottom of each piece so that you can push it into your cupcake. 

Set a wire rack in a tray and set aside. Drop the rosemary pieces into the cooled sugar syrup, toss until coated, then remove and place onto the wire rack for excess syrup to drip off. Don’t leave the rosemary in the syrup for too long as the heat may cause the leaves to turn brown. Leave the rosemary to dry out for about 1 hour until the syrup is thickened and tacky.

To finish off the trees, toss the sticky rosemary pieces one at a time in white sugar until completely coated, fluffing out any leaves that are stuck together. Place the sugared rosemary back on the wire rack until ready to use (see Tips).

For the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 12-hole cupcake tray with white paper liners.

Whisk the eggs until frothy, the mix in the melted butter and coconut milk until combined. Add the cake mix and coconut and stir to form a smooth batter. Divide the batter between the cupcakes liners and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked through. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool.

For the frosting, melt the chocolate in the microwave and place in the fridge to cool (but not harden). Whip the butter with an electric mixer for a few minutes until creamy and pale in colour, then add the icing sugar in two batches, mixing well between each addition. Check your chocolate – you want it to be melted, but not hot as this will melt the frosting. Mix the white chocolate into the frosting until well combined. If your icing is a bit too thick, mix in a little coconut milk.

Pipe or spread the white chocolate frosting on top of your cupcakes and sprinkle with extra desiccated coconut for a snowy effect. Press a sugared rosemary tree on top of each cupcake to finish.

Tip: Have a look at our Instagram recipe reel on @nomu.minimakes here.

The rosemary trees can be prepared in advance. Leave them on a wire rack at room temperature for 1 hour to dry out, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

The leftover coconut milk can be used in soups, smoothies, broths and curries, or store in the freezer for another baking day.

Transform this recipe into a stunning layer cake. Bake the cake batter in a small 16cm cake tin and slice into two layers once cooled (or divide the batter between 2 cake tins). Stack and frost with white chocolate buttercream and finish with a forest of sugared rosemary trees on top.