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These light and fluffy Easter Cupcakes are so chocolatey and are topped with my favourite Cadbury’s Mini Eggs. Whip up a batch with this tried-and-tested recipe for divine, indulgent seasonal treats.
This is an update from my original Easter Chocolate Cupcakes recipe, which dates back to when my twins were tiny tots. Their little cute faces even feature in photos in the old post.
While they’ve certainly outgrown those two-year-old selves in so many ways, they’re still very much here for the cupcakes (and the licking of the spoon/bowl.)
It’s time to give this one an upgrade, using my tried-and-tested foolproof Chocolate Cupcake recipe as base, but adding our beloved Mini Eggs on top to make them nest-like and perfect for Easter baking.
I love making batches of these for gifts or Easter gatherings, or just for an excuse to indulge in Chocolate Cupcakes – they’re light, moist and fluffy, so delicious and honestly really easy to make when you follow the simple tips and tricks below.
Why you’ll love this easy Easter Cupcakes recipe
⭐️ Homemade chocolatey deliciousness
⭐️ Easy to make but very impressive
⭐️ Ready in about half an hour
Sarah’s Notes
It’s no surprise I have used Easter Cupcakes as another excuse to add Mini Eggs into a recipe. I can’t get enough of them, so this time of year I have to go all-out!
They work really well for Easter decoration because they’re colourful and their hard shells make them sturdy. Adding them also means more chocolate and more Mini Eggs – what’s not to love!
You can even work well in desserts (it has to be Mini Egg Cheesecake or Mini Egg Chocolate Pudding for me.)
If you want to make something quicker and easier, you could always try my Easter Nests instead (these are perfect to make with kids.)
If you measure the batter out equally into the cupcake cases, this recipe will make a batch of 12 perfect Easter Cupcakes. Enjoy!
Easter Cupcakes Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- Caster sugar – This is finer than granulated sugar, and if you’re outside of the UK may be called superfine, bar or baker’s sugar.
- Butter – This needs to be at room temperature. If your butter comes straight from the fridge, soften it in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Eggs – I prefer medium, free range.
- Self-raising flour – This flour contains a raising agent so there’s no need for baking powder too.
- Cocoa powder – I feel that one non-negotiable to make these cupcakes amazing is VERY good quality cocoa powder.
- Milk – Full fat or semi-skimmed is fine. Do not use skimmed milk as your cupcakes will be very dry.
For the chocolate buttercream frosting:
- Butter – I use unsalted, room temperature butter for the icing. Do not even THINK about using margarine! It tastes grim and just doesn’t behave in the same way.
- Icing sugar – I find that a freshly opened bag of icing sugar gives the best results, so make sure you always seal your icing sugar bags well. Sieving it gives the best result but – honestly? – I don’t usually bother as I never have time!
- Cocoa – As above.
- Boiling water – This loosens everything a little.
- To decorate – About 36 (100g) of Cadbury’s Mini Eggs for the top.
How to make Easter Cupcakes
1. Cream the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, milk, sifted flour and cocoa powder.
3. Mix, then spoon into cupcake cases. Bake according to the full recipe below.
2. For the buttercream icing, beat the butter, then the icing sugar.
5. Mix cocoa powder with boiling water, then mix this paste in.
6. When the cakes are baked and cooled, pipe the icing on and finish off with Mini Eggs.
How to pipe the chocolate icing on
When the cupcakes are cool, pop a star nozzle (I almost always use a Wilton 1M nozzle, available on Amazon) in your piping bag and fill the bag with the freshly beaten icing.
Pipe a circle around the edge of the cupcake, continue with another circle on top, slightly smaller, and a finally tiny circle on top.
Give the bag a squeeze, stop squeezing and pull the bag away quickly.
Add Mini Eggs on top!
STORING
Store these in an airtight container that ISN’T plastic, somewhere cool (so usually dark too) but not a fridge.
The buttercream icing has butter in, but if you’re old school, you’ll always leave your real butter out of the fridge anyway when in use.
How long do Easter Cupcakes last?
Answer – in this house, not very long! Really though, you can make these chocolate cupcakes ahead of time.
They should last 3-4 days in an airtight tin (although they are better when they are fresh, most people wouldn’t notice the difference.)
You may find that if you store them on a hot day or in a plastic container, the cupcake cases come away a little from the cakes. This won’t affect the taste.
Can Easter Cupcakes be frozen?
Yes. Freeze them before icing and wrap them well.
Let them defrost at room temperature. You may find that if they have been frozen and defrosted, the cupcake cases come away a little from the cakes. This won’t affect the taste.
Recipe Tips
Adding the batter
If you measure the batter out equally into the cupcake cases, this recipe will make 12 perfect cakes.
There might not be a lot of batter in each case, but don’t worry! Have faith, they should rise to just the right size.
❗️Please don’t be tempted to add more into the cases – if you overstuff them with batter, they could rise too much in the oven, which will then cause them to sink and ruin.
For light, fluffy buttercream
If your buttercream is too stiff, add more boiling water, a little at a time until it is a smooth pipe-able texture.
Don’t over bake
Be sure to take them out of the oven when they are only JUST cooked as the heat in the pan will continue to cook them for a little while.
Tool recommendations
As well as the ingredients, you will also need the following baking utensils for this Chocolate Cupcake recipe:
- Piping bags – I still tend to use disposable piping bags sadly. Of course, I realise these are not great for the environment, but using reusable bags takes so much detergent to get them clean. I’m honestly not sure of the best option so I’m still with these piping bags at the moment, but please do let me know if you know of a better alternative!
- Piping nozzle – I almost always use a Wilton 1M nozzle, which is available on Amazon.
- Muffin tray – It’s really important to bake these cupcakes in a deep muffin tray like this one: Cupcake Baking Pan.
- Muffin cases – Having tested HUNDREDS of muffin cases (cupcake cases), I like these: Dr Oetker White Cupcake Cases, which are available at most supermarkets, or Brown Cupcake Cases. (I know – the white ones are a surprise! But I genuinely find them really good value and very sturdy)
- Ice cream scoop – I ALWAYS use a scoop for these cupcakes as the batter is quite runny.
More Mini Egg treats…
Easter Ideas
Mini Egg Cookies
Sweet Things
Mini Egg Rocky Road {Just 4 Ingredients!}
Easter Ideas
Easter Egg Cheesecake
Easter Ideas
Piñata Mini Egg Cake
FAQs
Almost always dry cupcakes are down to overbaking. Test your oven with an oven thermometer to check it isn’t TOO hot.
Also, cupcakes will always become dry if they aren’t fresh. If you’re eating them on day 5, they probably will be dry.
Be sure that your flour isn’t out of date (so the raising agent is still working).
Test your oven with an oven thermometer to check it really is as hot as the gauge says.
Do not open the oven too early.
Check that your eggs are medium or large size. Not enough eggs can cause cakes to rise less.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Chocolatey Easter Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 180 g (6 oz) Caster sugar
- 180 g (6 oz) Butter, Room temperature
- 3 Eggs, Free range, medium
- 2 tbsp Milk
- 150 g (5 oz) Self raising flour
- 30 g (1 oz) Cocoa powder
For the buttercream:
- 150 g (5 oz) Butter
- 300 g (10 oz) Icing sugar
- 30 g (1 oz) Cocoa powder
- Boiling water
To decorate:
- 36 Cadbury's Mini Eggs, 3 per cupcake
Instructions
- Get prepped: Preheat your oven to 160°C fan/180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Put 12 cupcake cases into your tin.
- Cream the butter: Cream your room temperature butter with your sugar until it's pale, light and fluffy, using a wooden spoon or an electric hand whisk.
- Create the batter: Add all of the eggs, along with the milk, and sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix together until everything is well combined.
- Spoon into cases: Spoon equal amounts of mixture into your cupcake cases. (I use an ice cream scoop as this gives the perfect amount and ensures some uniformity.)
- Time to bake: Bake for about 15-18 minutes until the cakes are golden and slightly bouncy to the touch. Then leave them to cool on a cooling rack.
- Now make the buttercream icing: Beat your butter until it's pale, light and fluffy then beat in the icing sugar. Mix the cocoa powder with 1-2 tbsp boiling water, just enough to make a thick smooth paste. Then mix this into the butter and icing sugar. You want your icing to be most soft, fluffy and pipeable so add a teaspoon of boiling water at a time until it's the texture that you want.
- Cool and decorate: Once the cakes are cooled, pipe or spoon on the icing, and place 3 Mini Eggs on top of each.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on April 18, 2014 and updated later to make improvements.
Thank you for this recipe and beautiful pictures
They look amazing Sarah!!! My little ones are not really talking yet but if there is one word they know really well and it is KO-LA-LAT (baby French for chocolate)!!!
Have a lovely Easter break!
They look great, but if I gave even half of one to my 3 year old, we’d have dangerous levels of hyperactivity for at least 2 hours. In order to avoid this, I’d just have to eat them all myself.