Recipe: Egg-cellent Easter Cupcakes

I absolutely love Easter! It’s a great time to spend with family and loved ones. One of my favourite activities to do together is baking. I hope you enjoy creating these 5 delightfully decorated cupcakes as much as I did!

I use Delia’s ‘all-in-one’ sponge recipe, and highly recommend it. Simply add all of your ingredients into one large mixing bowl and whisk it for a minute or two, spoon the mixture into paper cases in a muffin tray, then bake for 20-ish minutes at 170°C and THAT’S IT! This makes about 15 cupcakes.

Sponge ingredients

• 110g/4oz self-raising flour
• 110g/4oz margarine or butter (at room temperature)
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• (optional) add 1 large tbsp of cocoa powder to the mixture for chocolate cupcakes

1. Bunny Ears – ingredients and method

What you’ll need:

• White fondant
• Pink fondant
• Vanilla butter icing

1. Using white fondant, mould two small pieces into the shape of bunny ears with tools or your hands.

2. Make two slightly smaller, but identical, shapes with the pink fondant.

*TIP* – Instead of buying two colours of fondant, save money and buy some pink colouring, add it to the fondant and then knead it through. This is the same for any colour you wish to make. Or you can knead two colours together to form a new one (eg knead red and yellow together to make orange).

3. Place the two pink pieces of fondant on top of the white pieces to make the ears.

4. Ice the cupcakes with vanilla butter icing (you can make it yourself or buy it from a supermarket). I’d recommend using a piping bag but you could just spread the icing on with a knife and it would have the same effect.

5. Place the bunny ears into the middle of the icing to create your ‘Bunny Ears Cupcake’.

*TIP* – If the ears keep falling down, either make them slightly smaller or use a knife to cut small slits into the cupcake for your ears to sit in.

2. Sheep – ingredients and method

What you’ll need:

• Black fondant
• White fondant
• Vanilla butter icing
• Small white marshmallows

1. Roll a small ball using black fondant.

2. Stick two small pieces of fondant on top for the ears.

*TIP* – If you’re struggling to get the fondant pieces to stick together, get a small cup of water and a paint brush and treat it like glue. A TINY bit of water makes that area of fondant tacky and means it’ll stick more easily.

3. Mould two tiny circles with white fondant and stick on as the eyes.

4. Dot the tiniest little bits of black fondant in the centre of the white circles to form the pupils.

5. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the fondant shape twice to form nostrils.

6. Pipe the butter icing onto the cupcake or spread it with a knife. (It doesn’t have to be neat as it won’t be seen, BUT make sure not to completely cover the top of the cupcake as the marshmallows will spread it out and it will overflow.)

7. Place the little white marshmallows into the icing to resemble wool, but make sure to leave a little gap at the front for the head.

8. Place the sheep’s head into the icing among the marshmallows.

3. Easter Egg Bundle – ingredients and method

What you’ll need:

• Chocolate butter icing
• Chocolate mini eggs

1. Pipe the butter icing onto the cupcake. I recommend using a piping bag but spreading it on with a knife would still work perfect.

2. Place the mini eggs into the centre of the icing to make a little bundle. It’s as simple as that!

4. Bottoms up – ingredients and method

What you’ll need:

• White fondant
• Pink fondant
• Chocolate butter icing
• Small white marshmallows

1. Roll a ball with the white fondant icing to make the body of the bunny.

2. Mould two small pieces of fondant a little flatter to make the feet.

3. Mould 4 circular pieces of pink fondant – one larger and three much smaller. Place them on the feet to form the paws of the bunny.

4. Pipe the butter icing onto the cupcake and place the body of the bunny in the middle and the paws leaning against the body (as below).

5. For the tail you could either use a small bit of white fondant icing or a small white marshmallow. I used the marshmallow. Dot a tiny bit of white butter icing where you want the tail to go and then stick the small marshmallow to the bunny.

5. Carrot Bunch – ingredients and method

What you’ll need:

• Chocolate butter icing
• Orange fondant
• Green fondant

1. Mould a small piece of orange fondant into a strip that resembles a carrot and place a small bit of green fondant to the top to make the root.

2. Pipe the chocolate icing onto the cupcake. I recommend using a piping bag but using a knife would look just as good.

3. Place a couple of the fondant carrots into the centre of the icing to look like a bunch of carrots.

And there you have it! 5 easy and creative Easter cupcakes that the whole family will enjoy making ... and eating! :-)