These Easter bunny cupcakes are the perfect sweet treat for your Easter celebration. Start with vanilla cupcakes and decorate with colored sugar, marshmallows and chocolate chips for candy eyes. And they're so much easier to decorate than you think!
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If you're looking for a fun dessert to serve up at your Easter brunch, look no further than these adorable cupcakes. Start with store bought or homemade vanilla cupcakes - then top white white frosting and decorate to look like the bunny's face, ears, and whiskers. So cute!
These Easter Bunny Cupcakes Are...
- Quick and Easy
- Simple to Decorate
- Kid Friendly
- Perfect Easter dessert!
Don't forget to grab yourself some vegetarian friendly marshmallows for this one!
How to Decorate Easter Bunny Cupcakes
Start off by making your homemade vanilla cupcakes - the full directions are in the recipe card below, or you can use your own favorite cupcake recipe as the base.
The move on to decorating the Easter bunny cupcakes. Here's how:
- Use a piping bag or spoon to create a nicely rounded mound of frosting on top of each cupcake.
- Fill a bowl with coconut flakes and dip the top of the cupcake into the coconut, making sure the frosting is fully covered.
- Use clean scissors to cut 24 marshmallows diagonally. If the scissors become too sticky, wash them before continuing.
- In a small bowl, place sanding sugar and dip the sticky side of the marshmallow into the sugar. Pinch the marshmallows to push the centers down, creating a white ridge around the ear, and place the marshmallow halves on top of the bunny. If they don't stick, use additional frosting to help them adhere.
- Cut the remaining marshmallows into six pieces, first in half vertically, then each side into thirds. Use your fingers to form each piece into a ball, with the sticky parts on the outside. Roll the balls in the sanding sugar and place them on the bunny face.
- Use mini chocolate chips to create the bunny's eyes, using tweezers for precision if needed.
Full directions and step-by-step photos are in the printable recipe card below.
Helpful Tools For Decorating
Kitchen Shears
If you don't have scissors for the kitchen consider purchasing some - I like these OXO kitchen shears. They are great for cutting up the marshmallows in this recipe, but also handy for tasks like chopping fresh herbs.
Piping Bag
You will need a piping bag with a wide tip for the frosting. There are many different types of tips available, each producing a different shape and texture. For this recipe you do not need anything too fancy, just enough to pipe the frosting on.
Offset spatula
An offset spatula is helpful to spread frosting evenly over the surface of the cupcake - I always use one for frosting cakes too. But this one is optional - you can certainly make do without it.
Tips and Variations
Use vegan marshmallows!
Marshmallows are one of those sneaky non-vegetarian foods that most people don't know about. But have no fear - there are some awesome vegan friendly marshmallow brands out there. The most popular one (and what I used for this recipe) are these Dandies Marshmallows.
Mix up the Cupcake Flavor
I used a basic vanilla cupcake recipe for these Easter Bunny cupcakes, but you can use any cupcake flavor that you prefer. These Lavender Cupcakes or these Lemon Meringue Cupcakes would be delish. You can even use something like this carrot cake recipe for a fun twist! You can also opt to buy pre-frosted cupcakes ad just shape the top a bit before proceeding with the decorating.
Candy Eyes
I used chocolate chips for the bunny's eyes, but candy eyes would also be totally adorable. Or you can swap with other candies like M&Ms or Skittles.
White Sprinkles instead of Coconut
If coconut isn't your jam, you can swap the shredded coconut for white sprinkles instead. They are a little hard to find at the grocery store, but you can order them online!
Make it vegan.
These cupcakes are easy enough to vegan-ize as well. Use your favorite vegan cupcake recipe (or this vegan vanilla cake) as your base. Then just be sure to use vegan-friendly brands for your decorating supplies. This vegan vanilla frosting is a good choice. (And be sure to check out my other vegan Easter recipes too!)
Easter Bunny Cupcake FAQs
What flavor cupcakes are best for making Easter Bunny Cupcakes?
Vanilla or carrot cake cupcakes are popular choices for making these Easter Bunny Cupcakes, but you can use any cupcake flavor that you prefer!
Can I make these Easter Bunny Cupcakes ahead of time?
Yes, you can make the cupcakes and frosting ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. However, it's best to wait until shortly before serving to add the decorations.
How do I store these Easter Bunny Cupcakes?
Store these Easter Bunny Cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the cupcakes (before decorating) for up to 3 months.
More Easter Ideas
If you love these Easter Bunny Cupcakes, be sure to check out these other delicious ideas:
- My Vegan Brunch eCookbook - perfect for planning Easter brunch!
- 80+ Vegetarian Easter Recipes
- Spring Veggie Charcuterie Board
- Vegan Rice Krispie Treats
Recipe
Equipment
- Spoon or piping bag
- 2 small bowls
- Scissors
- Knife
- Spatula
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups milk room temperature
For Decorating
- 48 ounces white frosting store bought or homemade
- 28 vegan marshmallows such as Dandies
- 1 ½ cup coconut flakes
- Pink sanding sugar
- 48 mini chocolate chips
Instructions
For making the cupcakes:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two muffin tins with paper liners.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until just combined.
- Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ full with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
For decorating:
- Either use a piping bag or spoon to place the frosting on top of the cupcake. A nice rounded mound looks best.
- Place the coconut in a bowl, and dip the top of the cupcake into the coconut.
- Dip in the coconut until the frosting is fully covered.
- Cut 24 marshmallows at a diagonal with a clean, sharp scissors. If the scissors get too sticky, wash them between cuts.
- Place the sanding sugar in a small bowl. Dip the sticky side of the marshmallow into the sanding sugar. (You can pinch the marshmallows to push the centers down so that the edges pull away from the sugar to get a white ridge around the ear.) Place the marshmallow halves on top of the bunny. If they aren’t sticking, you can apply additional frosting to help make it stick.
- Cut the remaining marshmallows into 6 pieces. I cut them in half vertically, then each side got cut into thirds. Then I used my fingers to form it into a ball, trying to get the sticky parts on the outside of the ball. Roll the balls in the sanding sugar and apply it on the bunny face.
- Apply mini chocolate chips for the eyeballs. Using tweezers were really helpful for this!
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