Originally published on April 20, 2014
These cupcakes will work with pretty much any cupcake and frosting recipe you choose, and the assembly comes together quicker than you’d think. They’ll also make your day just that much tastier as you nibble away on them. Happy Easter, everyone!
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 package Philly cream cheese, room temperature
2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the assembly:
2 cups sweetened coconut
12 large marshmallows
1/2 cup yellow sugar
1/2 cup pink sugar
1/2 cup purple sugar
6 stick pretzels, snapped in half
24 chocolate chips
12 jelly beans
Directions:
To make the cupcakes:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-tin muffin tray with paper liners.
2.) In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk. Set aside.
3.) In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until it’s fully incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients with the mixer on low, alternatively adding the milk and ending with the flour. Spoon the batter into the lined tins.
4.) Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside and allow them to completely cool before frosting.
To make the frosting:
5.) In a large bowl, mix the butter and the cream cheese together until smooth, about three minutes. Scrape down the sides occasionally to ensure even mixing.
6.) Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar until frosting reaches your desired thickness and sweetness.
For the assembly:
7.) Use an offset spatula or piping bag to frost the top of each cupcake entirely with frosting.
8.) Place coconut in a bowl. Holding one frosted cupcake upside down, lightly turn frosting in the coconut, coating the top of the cupcake as you do. When the top of one cupcake is completely covered in coconut, set aside and move on to another cupcake. Repeat until all cupcakes have been covered in coconut.
9.) Place each colour of sugar on its own shallow plate. Using sharp kitchen shears, cut each large marshmallow in half diagonally. Dip the cut side of each marshmallow into one colour of sugar, ensuring that you keep the marshmallow with its pair, and that each side is dipped into the same colour (so that you don’t end up with a bunny with one pink ear and one purple.)
10.) After marshmallow has been dipped in sugar, insert one end of a pretzel into the flat bottom side of it, making sure there’s a small piece of pretzel sticking out of the marshmallow. This is going to be the support for the marshmallow as it sits on the cupcake, so there needs to be enough. Place the portion of the pretzel that’s sticking out of the marshmallow into the side of the top of the cupcake. Do the same with the marshmallow half of the same coloured sugar, and then place on the other side so that they look like bunny ears.
11.) Use a piping bag or dip the pointed end of a chocolate chip into frosting to ensure that it’s entirely coated. Place this underneath one of the ears, pointed side down, to look like an eye. Do the same thing with another chocolate chip on the other side.
12.) Use a piping bag or dip one side of a jelly bean into frosting to ensure that one side is entirely covered. Then, below and in between the bunny’s eyes, place the jelly bean so that it looks like a nose.
13.) Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
14.) Serve and enjoy!