Easy Easter Cupcake Recipe

These charming Easter Cupcakes are a wonderful dessert recipe for Easter Sunday. They are easy and delicious and fun for kids to decorate! 

Filled with a vanilla strawberry cake, they are topped with a lightly sweetened cream cheese frosting and topped with toasted coconut and chocolate candy eggs. Almost too cute to eat! 

A Cupcake For All Seasons

I love the idea of a "specialty cupcake" to celebrate the season and make the holidays feel festive! Cupcakes are an easy dessert to serve too because they always go over well with grownups and kids alike! 

For Mother's Day try my Strawberry Cupcake Recipe, for Christmas my Candy Cane Cupcake Recipe, and for Halloween my rich, dark Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Watch My Video Demo of This Recipe Below

Make it Festive 

• I love these cute cupcake cups with Easter-themed designs from Simply Baked Designs because they add so much look for not a lot of effort.
• I think the old-world vintage design also adds to the charm. 

Child-Size Portions

• The blue ones are smaller in size, perfect for kids, while the pink ones are larger and great for grown-ups.
• I love how it provides different portion sizes but creates a coordinated look
• I also like these liners because if you serve them with little wood spoons they can eat them in the actual cupcake cups. 

Keep the Frosting Light

• I'm not a huge fan of overly sweet frosting, especially when there are additional sweet garnishes on top like candy!
• So this frosting is a cream cheese frosting that is lightly sweetened, to balance out the sweetness of the candy eggs on top.  

Coconut Nests

• To create the cute little bird's nest effect, I use toasted coconut because I like the natural look it creates.
• It's best to use unsweetened, coconut for this and watch it closely since coconut burns quickly!
• It only takes a few minutes to achieve a nice golden brown color.
• For real coconut fans, you could also swap this vanilla strawberry cupcake recipe and use my Coconut Banana Cupcake Recipe instead. Another delicious one for the season!

The Candy Eggs on Top

I love the candy eggs from Cadbury Chocolate because the colors are so soft and pretty, and you can add one of each color to the top. The chocolate inside is also pretty divine too! 

A Softer Option For Small Children

The Cadbury chocolate eggs are covered in a hard candy shell, so if serving these to smaller children it might be safer to add a softer garnish on top like a Marshmallow Peep or Hershey's Chocolate Egg. 

Make-Ahead and Serving Tips:

• You can bake the cupcakes a day ahead. Cover loosely with foil and refrigerate.
• You can also make the frosting, place it in a pastry bag with a tip, and store it in a tall glass upright in the refrigerator.
• Toast the coconut, and keep it at room temperature.
• Then moments before serving (or an hour before), frost the cupcakes and decorate. I find the frosting is softer or more creamy if you frost right before serving.
• I like to serve the cupcakes on a wire cakestand because it reminds me of those old vintage egg baskets. 

Create a "Center-Piece" Cupcake

• You can then decorate the middle cupcake with something special like a cute chocolate bunny.
• I like this Chocolate Bunny from Ghiradelli because it has a lot of detail and is the perfect size for the top of a cupcake. 

More Great Easter Recipes!

• Key Lime Pie Cheesecake
• Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie Recipe
• Lavender Creme Brulee
• Chocolate Cream Pie

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Easter Cupcake Recipe

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

A delicious Easter Cupcake recipe filled with strawberries and topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting and easter eggs.

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Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup (150g) sugar
• ½ cup (120ml) melted butter
• ¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil
• ¾ cup (180ml) water
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cup (210g) flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon (7.5ml) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (2.5ml) salt
• 1 cup (150g) fresh strawberries (or dehydrated strawberries) diced

FROSTING FOR BAKING CUPS:

• 32 oz (920g) whipped cream cheese
• 1 ¾ cup (175g) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon (30 ml) milk

FROSTING FOR REGULAR-SIZED 12 CUPCAKES:

• 16 oz (450g) whipped cream cheese
• 1 cup (100g) powdered sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon (7.5ml) vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk

Garnish:

• 1 cup (150g) unsweetened shredded coconut
• Mini Cadbury Milk Chocolate Pastel Eggs
• Hershey Chocolate Eggs
• Ghirardelli Chocolate Caramel Bunny for center

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (175 C) degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, sugar, butter, oil, water, and vanilla. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, in thirds, until combined. Stir in the strawberries.
4. Scoop batter ⅔ of the way full into muffins tins lined with muffin papers for regular cupcakes.
5. Or place muffin cups on a baking sheet and fill ½ way full. Bake the large ones first, then bake the smaller ones.
6. For regular-sized cupcakes in a 12-cup tin bake 17-2 mins until golden brown and risen.
7. For large baking cups bake 25-30 minutes. For small baking cups bake 20 minutes.
8. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
9. Meanwhile, place the 1 cup of shredded coconut on a baking tray and place in a 350F(175C) oven, and toast coconut for 4-5 minutes shaking the pan mid-way until it turns golden brown. All to cool completely before using.
10. To make the frosting combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and with an electric mixer beat until combined. Add milk and beat until smooth and creamy.
11. Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with your favorite tip. Create a swirl of frosting on each cupcake in a nest design. Top with 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut and then place 3 Cadbury eggs (in different pastel colors) on top. For the smaller cupcakes use just one Cadbury or one milk chocolate egg.
12. Reserve the bunny for the center cupcake. ​
13. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve, remove from refrigerator 1 hour before serving to come to room temperature.
14. Serve cupcakes with 3 ½ inch balsa wood spoons.

Notes

Make-Ahead Tips:

• You can bake the cupcakes a day ahead. Cover loosely with foil and refrigerate.
• You can also make the frosting, place it in a pastry bag with a tip, and store it in a tall glass upright in the refrigerator.
• Toast the coconut, and keep at room temperature.
• Then moments before serving (or an hour before), frost the cupcakes and decorate. I find the frosting is softer or more creamy if you frost right before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 547Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 28gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 184mgSodium: 459mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 11g