Our Chocolate Easter Cupcakes make an easy dessert for the holiday. Soft chocolate cupcakes topped with mini eggs and salty pretzels look like a colorful birds nest getting ready to hatch!
These fun chocolate cupcakes are perfect for Easter dessert and spring parties. They're made easily with a box of chocolate cake mix, an irresistibly delicious homemade chocolate frosting (or Nutella buttercream frosting), and lots of candy decoration molded into a birds nest. They're the chocolate version of our vanilla bunny cupcakes that we also love to make during the holiday season.
Kids love making and eating these chocolate Easter cupcakes. Who wouldn't? So grab your spatula-licking kiddos and let's get to baking! I bet they'd love to make some Easter dirt cups, bunny paw sugar cookies and mini egg rice krispie treats while they're at it too!
Ingredients and Supplies Needed
Cupcake Ingredients
For the cupcake batter you need a box of chocolate cake mix, plus the eggs and oil that the box calI for. I use and love these pink foil cupcake liners to cook them in. They hold their shape without wrinkling and are durable. I have them in almost every color! To frost the cupcakes, I use this piping bag with one of the star shaped tips.
Frosting Ingredients
Our recipe makes an absolutely delicious icing that's like a combination of cream cheese icing and buttercream icing. You'll need softened cream cheese, softened unsalted butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar) and vanilla extract to make it. You can also use chocolate extract instead of vanilla.
Candy Decorations
To turn your chocolate cupcakes into cute Easter nest cupcakes , you'll need chocolate jimmies, green edible luster, broke pretzel sticks and chocolate mini eggs. We love Cadbury mini eggs! There are so many fun Easter desserts you can make with them, including this mini eggs cookie cake.
How To Make Chocolate Easter Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the box of cake mix (usually 350° Fahrenheit). Line the muffin tin with the cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcake batter as indicated on the package and fill each liner ⅔ full. Bake for the time indicated on the box, about 20 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the oven when done and place on your decorating workspace. Let the cupcakes cool for at least 1 hour before frosting.
- When the cupcakes have cooled make the chocolate frosting. Combine the softened butter, softened cream cheese and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Using the electric hand mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add unsweetened cocoa powder and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 2 cups at a time and continue to beat on low speed until smooth.
- Choose your piping tip and secure it to the piping bag. Fill the piping bag with chocolate frosting. Twist the top where the frosting ends and hold securely while squeezing the frosting in a circular fashion onto each cupcake.
- Sprinkle each frosted cupcake with chocolate jimmies and green edible luster. Break pretzel sticks in half and arrange on the center of the cupcake in a birds nest fashion. Place 2 or 3 chocolate mini eggs onto the pretzel nest.
- Transfer decorated cupcakes to the fridge to chill and set the frosting. Serve within a few hours or within 2 days for the best results.
Tips from the Chef
- As an extra precaution against the cupcakes sticking to the liners, spray them lightly with cooking oil spray before adding the batter.
- To cool the cupcakes quickly and finish them faster, put in the fridge for 10 minutes and then decorate.
How To Store Cupcakes
Store cupcakes in a covered container like this, in a plastic cake holder or another plate or dish covered with tented foil. They must be stored in the fridge until ready to serve and will keep for 3-5 days.
Recipe
Chocolate Easter Cupcakes
Equipment
- 18 pink cupcake liners
- electric hand mixer
- standard size muffin tin
- piping bag and piping tips
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix, plus eggs and oil as indicated on package
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 cup chocolate jimmies
- green edible luster dust
- 2 cups pretzel sticks
- 64 mini chocolate eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the box of cupcake mix (usually 350° Fahrenheit). Line the muffin tin with the cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcake batter as indicated on the package and fill each liner ⅔ full. Bake for the time indicated on the box, usually 18-20 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the oven when done and place on your decorating workspace. Let the cupcakes cool for at least 1 hour before frosting.
- When the cupcakes have cooled make the chocolate frosting. Combine the softened butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Using the electric hand mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add unsweetened cocoa powder and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 2 cups at a time and continue to beat on low speed until smooth.
- Choose your piping tip and secure it to the piping bag. Fill the piping bag with frosting. Twist the top where the frosting ends and hold securely while squeezing the frosting in a circular fashion onto each cupcake.
- Sprinkle each frosted cupcake with chocolate jimmies and green edible luster. Break pretzel sticks in half and arrange on the center of the cupcake in a birds nest fashion. Place 2-3 chocolate mini eggs onto the pretzel nest.
- Transfer decorated cupcakes to the fridge to chill and set the frosting. Serve within a few hours or within 2 days for the best results.
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