Easter Cupcakes Recipe

When Easter comes to mind, it's all about spring-inspired dishes. Of course, a baked ham serves as a great main dish for a celebratory dinner, paired with classic scalloped potatoes and fresh veggies such as roasted asparagus or roasted carrots. But a special spring meal for Easter also calls for an equally special dessert. And while there are plenty of delicious options out there, a classic cupcake may be the ideal way to round out your festive menu.

Easter cupcakes may come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. Truly, you can get as creative as you wish. But we're here to inspire you with an option reminiscent of the robin's eggs of spring.

With a simple vanilla cupcake recipe, robin's egg blue frosting, and a clever decorating technique to add a painted, speckled look, you'll be able to whip up a batch of freshly baked cupcakes and decorate them for Easter to impress the whole family in no time.

To make these Easter cupcakes, you'll first need to gather your ingredients for baking.

For the cupcakes, you'll need a cup of white sugar, a cup of flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, half a teaspoon of baking soda, half a teaspoon of salt, two eggs, a quarter cup of oil, half a cup of milk, and one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

For the frosting to top these Easter cupcakes, you'll need half a cup of softened butter, five to six cups of powdered sugar, two tablespoons of milk, an additional teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and teal food coloring. To add the speckled look, you'll need half a tablespoon of cocoa powder, two tablespoons of water, and a bit of blue food coloring to darken the mixture. And don't forget to pick up a bag of your favorite Easter egg candies! Chocolate speckled eggs or jelly beans will be as cute as can be on top of these festive cupcakes.

To get started on making these Easter cupcakes, first preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The batter for your cupcakes will come together quickly. Preheating the oven as you begin will ensure it's up to the right temperature once your batter is ready for baking.

In a large mixing bowl, add the white sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a hand mixer to mix until the dry ingredients are well-combined. If you prefer to use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, that's a great option for this recipe as well.

Once all of the dry ingredients are mixed together for this vanilla Easter cupcakes recipe, it's time to finish the batter by adding in the wet ingredients. Add in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the eggs, and then mix in the oil. Lastly, mix in the milk and the vanilla extract. 

Be sure to only mix until the batter is just moistened and comes together. Over-mixing at this step will result in a drier, denser cupcake.

Once the cupcake batter is prepared, it's time to prep these Easter cupcakes for baking. Prepare a cupcake pan with paper liners. If you don't have paper liners, spray each cupcake pan well with cooking spray to prevent the cupcakes from sticking while baking.

Use a measuring cup to scoop the cupcake batter into each cupcake well, filling each halfway full. Place the cupcake pan in the oven and bake the cupcakes for 18 minutes until lightly golden brown. Once they're finished baking, remove the cupcakes from the oven and set them aside to fully cool.

While the Easter cupcakes are cooling, prepare the robin's egg blue frosting to go on top.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with a hand mixer to break it up. Add in two cups of powdered sugar, mix, and then mix in two tablespoons of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Continue to gradually add in the remaining powdered sugar as you mix until a soft frosting forms. Once the frosting comes together, turn the speed up on the mixer to whip the frosting.

Once the frosting is ready, add in teal food coloring to achieve your desired coloring of robin's egg blue. This should only require a few drops of food coloring.

Once your Easter cupcakes have fully cooled, they're ready to decorate for the season. Top the cupcakes with robin's egg blue frosting. Using a piping bag fitted with a large star tip will make this process easier. Plus, it adds a nice nest-like look to it.

Once all of the cupcakes are frosted, mix together half a tablespoon of cocoa powder and two tablespoons of water. If you'd like the color to be a bit darker, stir in a tiny bit of dark blue food coloring. Use a paint brush or a makeup brush to flick the cocoa water mixture onto the cupcakes. Using your thumb to pull the end of the brush back, releasing, and flicking will provide the best results.

Once the cupcakes are decorated, top them with your favorite Easter candy eggs to finish them off.