April 2, 2015
Easter Nest Cupcakes!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details!*
Easy easter nest cupcakes with a chocolate cupcake, vanilla and chocolate buttercreams and easter chocolates!
Easter is probably high up on one of my favourite times of the year – the amount of hot cross buns that can be eaten without looking foolish, all the chocolate, and of course – Mini Eggs. I realised I hadn’t put up a simple vanilla cupcake recipe and felt bad because of – it’s one of the most important recipes in someone’s book!
I wanted this recipe to be something that was really fun yet still easy to do. I’ve made this recipe several times since I posted it back in 2015, so nearly THREE YEARS AGO now (Blimey time flies) and I just love it so much still. I don’t get bored of these cupcakes at Easter time because people of all ages love them far too much.
Cupcakes
I’ve made them so many times that I really have perfected the recipe, and I’m not blowing my own trumpet but they’re SO GOOD. The cupcakes themselves are just a simple chocolate cupcake, and then the buttercream is a mix of vanilla (the green grass parts) and chocolate with the nest parts! Then of course, you have the ‘eggs’ with MINI EGGS YAY.
- Butter – for the butter, you can use a baking spread or a block butter – both work well for the cupcakes.
- Sugar – I use caster sugar but light brown soft sugar or golden caster sugar would work well
- Flour – self raising flour, as always!
- Eggs – I always use medium eggs, so I used four eggs for this. 3 large eggs would work well.
- Chocolate – to make them nice and chocolatey. If you don’t want chocolate cakes, you can replace the cocoa powder with more self raising flour
Buttercream
These cupcakes use a basic American buttercream frosting as it’s easier to colour one half and make the other chocolate…. delicious!
- Butter – you must use block butter for the frosting, and not a spread.
- Sugar – I use icing sugar, of course. I prefer to use one with an anti-caking agent so it doesn’t spray everywhere when mixing.
- Chocolate – Again adding a little cocoa powder to the chocolate half, add a little boiling water if it’s too thick
- Vanilla – always adding a little sweetness to my bakes because I love it, but it is optional
- Colour – I use this green food colouring in my recipe as it’s super strong and you need so little
- Easter chocolates – you can use any you like!
Decoration
I realise these cupcakes look a little faffy, but honestly they’re not! I used to make the ‘nest’ part of it with a different piping tip, but honestly using a medium hair/grass piping tip works SO well for the grass and also the nest!
I liked the idea on these cupcakes for the grass to look as realistic for buttercream as it could, and the thinner strands of the frosting worked really well with the idea of a nest as well. Sort of like using shredded wheat in actual easter nests!
Tips & Tricks
- I use this green food colouring
- I use these large piping bags
- I use this grass piping tip
- This recipe was updated Feb 2024, original recipe in the blog post
- I use these baking cups
- These will last for 3-4 days once baked
- They will also freeze for 3+ months
Original recipe
- Cupcake mix: 175g unsalted butter, 175g caster sugar, 175g self raising flour, 3 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Buttercream mix: 150g unsalted butter, 300g icing sugar, 1tsp vanilla, 1-2tbsp boiling water, green food colouring, 50g cocoa powder, and mini eggs
Easter Nest Cupcakes!
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients
- 200 g unsalted butter/baking spread
- 200 g caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs
- 150 g self raising flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
Buttercream Ingredients
- 200 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 400 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- green food colouring
- 20 g cocoa powder
- mini eggs
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180ºc/160ºc fan and grab 12 cupcake/muffin cases
- Beat the butter and the sugar together
- Add the eggs, flour and cocoa powder and mix
- Split between the cases and bake for 20-22 minutes
- Leave to cool fully
Buttercream
- Add the butter to a bowl and mix to loosen
- Add the icing sugar and vanilla and mix
- Add half to a different bowl, and colour one green, and add the cocoa to another
- Mix together
- Use a grass piping nozzle to add grass around the edge of the cupcakes
- Use another grass nozzle to pipe the nest in the middle
- Add easter chocolates to the middle
Notes
- I use this green food colouring
- I use these large piping bags
- I use this grass piping tip
- This recipe was updated Feb 2024, original recipe in the blog post
- I use these baking cups
- These will last for 3-4 days once baked
- They will also freeze for 3+ months
ENJOY!
Find my other recipes on my Recipes Page!
You can find me on:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube
J x
© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.
Hi Jane,
What Green Food Colouring do you use?
I use wilton, sugar flair, pro gel or colour splash!
[…] you can make cute Easter Nest Cupcakes with them. But anyway, having a hidden little Creme Egg at the bottom of these takes the cupcakes […]
Lovely design, super cute for Easter. Wasn’t a fan of the buttercream unfortunately as it was too thick to pipe (despite beating well).
Whenever this happens it can be temperature as well as how much it’s been beaten, but you can add 1-3tbsp boiling water and it’ll make it perfect!
[…] recipes were different to my usual brownie recipe (they weren’t) I came across recipes for mini egg cupcakes (from Jane’s Patisserie – she has lots of yummy recipes, check them out!) and mini egg […]
[…] hours drooling over her recipe list. For starters, check out the Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart, the Easter Nest Cupcakes, and the Classic Buttery […]
Cupcakes are so cute…nice idea…could use it on my site “fancifulcupcakes” if I may. Hope you’ll visit..:))
I think these may be the best easter egg nest cupcakes I’ve ever seen – I’m gutted to have missed Easter this year and will have to wait to make these!
Awwh thank you so much!! <3 My idea wasn't original, but I tried my best with the inspiration of pinterest!!
Easter is one of my favorite times too 🙂 love your cupcakes, such a fun way to decorate them! Xx
Thank youuu!! 🙂 xx
Wow! So beautiful! What detail!! Are you framing one? ?
Thank you! And damn it, I knew there was something I had forgotten to do.. I ate them all too quick ?
Haha! Next time… ?
Definitely!
Wow!! Such cute looking cupcakes and I m sure great tasting as well! Your blog looks super delicious. Thanx for stopping by my blog. Happy Easter !!
Thank you so much!! That means a lot to me 🙂 and its okay, I loved your post! Happy Easter to you too! x
Yum!! Love looking at your recipes for inspo, don’t stop blogging 🙂
Aww thank you so much!! That gives me confidence to keep going 🙂 x
They are so cute. Happy Easter!
Thank you!! 🙂 and to you too!
These are so cute! I can’t agree more as a baker there are so many recipes out there but a good vanilla and chocolate one can take many tries. Many would think these are the easy recipes! Anyway, adorable and perfect timing I needed a new cute Easter cupcake! Thank you!
Exactly, sometimes the simpler things are harder because you can’t hide! And thank you!!
So cute, who could resist those. And I love mini eggs.
Thank you! They’re my favourite easter treat 🙂 x
So lovely Jane, Happy Easter!
Thank you so much! And happy Easter to you too!
These look fantastic! Love!
Thank you so much!! 🙂 x
Those are sooo cute!
Thank you so much!! 😀
Have a great Easter!
You too!!! x