robin’s egg easter cupcakes.

I know, I know. Easter is over. Still – I wanted to share with you what I made for one of my *favorite* holidays.

{I’m obsessed with Easter for many reasons – but Cadbury Creme Eggs probably top the list}

I initially saw this idea on the Food Network’s website as I was perusing all of their adorable Easter cupcakes. I wasn’t in love with the cake and icing recipes they used but I did love the idea of the little egg nests. I fell in love with this yellow cake recipe; the cupcakes hadn’t been auditioned yet, so I figured I should give it a try. I had also just seen a recipe for an easy vanilla buttercream so that was taken care of, too.

Robin’s Egg Easter Cupcakes

• 1 batch (12-15) vanilla cupcakes
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla frosting
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 bag Cadbury Mini Eggs (or other Easter candy such as malted milk eggs)
• Green and blue food coloring

To make the green coconut grass, place the coconut into a Ziploc bag and add 2-3 drops of the green food coloring. You can make it as green as you’d like; I added just a little to make the green lighter and more of a pastel. Just squish it around in the bag until the color is evenly distributed.

To make the light blue frosting, just add a few drops of blue food coloring to any vanilla icing you wish. I added 3 or 4 drops to the buttercream frosting I used to make it a light Robin’s egg blue. You could also add red and blue food coloring to make purple, or yellow food coloring for yellow frosting, etc.

Frost your cupcakes, then add a small mound of the coconut grass on top. Finish them off with a couple of candy eggs. (Tip: dab each egg with a tiny bit of frosting – this will create a ‘glue’ so they stick to the coconut.)

Best Yellow Cupcakes

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Yield: 12-15 cupcakes

• 2 cups plus 1 tablespoons cake flour (see below for what to do if you can’t find any)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F.

If you’re like me and can’t get your hands on cake flour anywhere near you {soon I will remember to actually order some online – promise}, here is what you do. For each cup of ‘homemade’ cake flour, just take one cup of flour, remove 2 tablespoons and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. You then need to sift it a bunch of times (like 5) to give it that superfine and fluffy consistency that cake flour has. Yes, it’s kind of annoying, but it’s a must. You don’t need a sifter (I don’t even have one) – you just need one of those mesh strainers that you use to drain pasta and veggies. Take 2 bowls and sift the flour mixture from one into another for a total of 5 times.

Now sift the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the flour (or you can add these before you start sifting).

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled – this is what you want). Now add your flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Distribute batter evenly throughout cupcake tin(s). Fill them up a little over halfway, otherwise you will end up with overflowing cupcakes like I did. {They came out fine in the end – all that love nest topping covers up any imperfections.} Bake until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t overbake! Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove them and let them cool completely.

Easy Vanilla Buttercream

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: About 1 1/2 cups (enough for 12-15 cupcakes)

• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (original recipe called for vanilla bean as well; instead I upped the extract)
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.

Add confectioner’s sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully incorporated, about 30 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 20 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.