I started making these Easter bird’s nest cupcakes a couple years ago and they were a huge hit! Not only is baking fun, but the whole family can be involved! This recipe is super simple and makes a perfectly moist vanilla cupcake.
The first step is to gather all of your ingredients! I find that baking is easiest when you have a game plan. That means, gather your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready to go (It also helps it be less stressful when baking with children). This recipe makes 12 regular sized cupcakes, so if you want more, just double the recipe.
Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Once you’ve gathered all your ingredients, insert cupcake liners into your cupcake pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Next, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. If you do not have a sifter, mixing them with a whisk works as well.
After your flour, baking powder and salt are mixed together, beat the eggs and flour together well and then add the melted butter and vanilla gradually. This step is very important. Making sure you have room temperature eggs and the butter melted will ensure your cupcakes have an even consistency and will be more moist!
With the mixer on a low speed, add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Once combined, add the milk. I personally prefer soy milk because I think it gives the cupcakes a better texture and richer flavor, but feel free to use any milk you have on hand. Coconut milk and almond milk also work well with this recipe. Once the milk has been mixed in, add the rest of the flour mixture until combined.
Once your batter is ready, divide the batter evenly into your prepared cupcake pan and place on the center rack of your oven for 18-20 minutes. While your cupcakes are baking is a perfect time to prepare your icing!
Let your freshly baked cupcakes cool in the cupcake tin on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before decorating. If you don’t have a cooling rack, you can use the top of your stove. I prefer to let my cupcakes cool completely for at least an hour and then place them in the refrigerator because it is much easier to frost and decorate a cooled cupcake.
Now, let’s decorate!
This is my favorite part! Let’s be honest, this is everyone’s favorite part! This is time to get creative and have fun. Not only will your kids love licking the beaters after you mix the frosting, but they will love putting the little eggs in the nests!
Before you start decorating, start by gathering all the ingredients for the icing and decorations first.
Icing Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat the butter until creamy and then add remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Once your icing is ready to go, separate half of the icing into a bowl for the green frosting and half into another bowl for the brown frosting. Once you have the icing divided into two bowls, add a couple drops of green food coloring into one of the bowls. I use the green icing to surround the coconut grass around the outside of the cupcake. In the other bowl of icing, you will add coco powder to make it brown. The brown icing is for the bird’s nest.
Decorations
shredded coconut
green food coloring
candy eggs (I prefer M&M eggs)
coco powder
piping bag (or Ziplock bag)
Wilton tip #233 for bird’s nest
Coconut grass
Making the coconut grass is by far my sons’s favorite part. It is incredibly simple. Just put some shredded coconut in a zippered bag and add a couple drops of green food coloring. Once you’ve added the food coloring, zip the bag and mix around to coat all the coconut. You can add more green food coloring until you reach the desired color green for the grass.
I like to pipe the green icing on top of and around the top of the cupcake first and then add the green coconut grass to the middle. The green icing keeps the coconut grass contained.
Next, you are ready to create the bird’s nest on top of the coconut grass with your brown frosting. Once you have the bird’s nests, simply add 3 candy eggs and your Easter bird’s nest cupcakes are complete!
Happy Easter and Happy baking friends!
XOXO,
Lauren
