Easter Cupcakes

Cute and easy Easter Cupcakes start with a homemade vanilla cupcake that’s topped with a homemade Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. Top them with a few Easter egg candies and a splattering of cocoa!

When Easter rolls around, I always have so much fun in the kitchen. There are so many delicious dishes to make for an Easter dinner, like honey baked ham, broccoli salad, and homemade crescent rolls. I have a blast with the dessert too! I of course make these adorable spring cupcakes, but I always make carrot cake bars and bunny bait too.

So, if you’re looking for a good go-to, easy Easter dessert, you’ll love these fun cupcakes for Easter. Homemade cupcakes are always better than box mix and you’ll find that they’re not difficult to make either!

Why You’ll Love Easter Cupcakes

• These delicious cupcakes are great to make for an Easter potluck or brunch!
• This recipe yields cupcakes that truly are bakery quality. They’re perfect to give out as gifts around Easter.
• Although there are a lot of steps, these cupcakes for Easter aren’t difficult to make! Just follow the step-by-step instructions and you’ll have fabulous cupcakes in an hour and a half.

Ingredients needed to make Cupcakes for Easter

• All-purpose flour – Be sure you use a high-quality all-purpose flour for best results.
• Milk – I chose to use whole milk, but you could use 2% or 1% milk if you prefer.
• Eggs – Eggs help provide structure to cupcakes. Let the eggs come to room temperature before using them and they will mix into the batter more easily.
• Unsalted butter – You’ll need unsalted butter for both the cupcakes and the buttercream frosting. Unsalted butter will help you control the salt content in your cupcakes, so I don’t recommend using salted butter.
• Granulated white sugar – Make sure you’ve got enough sugar to use in both the cupcakes and the frosting!
• Baking powder – This will act as the rising agent to make your cupcakes perfectly fluffy.
• Vanilla extract – You can’t have vanilla cupcakes without vanilla!
• Salt – A little pinch of salt helps balance the sweetness of the cupcakes.
• Egg whites – You need both eggs and egg whites for this recipe. You’ll use the egg whites in the frosting and that’s what will make it really light and airy.
• Mini Easter eggs – These can typically be found on the seasonal aisle at your grocery store. They’re candy coated eggs made out of a chocolate and malted milk ball filling.
• Teal food coloring – This makes your buttercream frosting the perfect Easter color. But you could also use another color if you prefer. Pink or yellow would be really pretty!
• Cocoa Powder – Don’t use hot cocoa mix, you need plain cocoa powder.

How to Make Easter Cupcakes

Follow these step-by-step instructions to make these easy cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting!

Make the Cupcakes

Prepare a cupcake pan by lining it with 12 cupcake liners and then set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the room temperature softened butter and sugar with a stand mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until the mixture is fluffy.

In a separate bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and then gently fold them together.

Pour milk into the batter and gently fold to combine.

Then, divide the cupcake batter between the 12 cupcake liners. They should be about 2/3 full.

Bake the cupcakes until they are a golden brown color and are springy to the touch.

Remove them from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the Buttercream Frosting

Pour a few inches of water into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Then, place the egg whites and sugar into the bowl for a stand mixer (or a mixing bowl if you don’t have a stand mixer) and set it over the simmering water

Be sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water so that the egg whites don’t scramble. Use a whisk to beat the egg whites continuously for 4-5 minutes until the mixture looks frothy.

Dip you finger into the mixture and if you feel any grain, keep heating and mixing until the mixture is smooth. The sugar needs to completely dissolve.

Place the bowl onto the stand mixer, or ready your hand mixer. Whisk on medium-high speed until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.

Once the the stiff peaks are formed, the outside of the bowl should be cool. It if isn’t, place the whole bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Swap the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment. When the bowl is cool, add butter one tablespoon at a time. Beat on high and fully incorporate each addition of butter until it is all mixed in.

It is normal for the mixture to look split at this point! You haven’t messed it up, so just keep going.

Add the vanilla extract and keep running the mixer until the mixture forms a silky smooth texture.

Add a drop of food coloring and beat until the color is thoroughly incorporated.

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag that is fitted with a star nozzle.

Decorate your Cupcakes

Pipe the fresh buttercream in a swirly pattern on top of the cupcakes. Make sure they’re fully cooled before you top them with frosting.

To add a speckled effect, mix cocoa powder and vanilla and then dip a small paintbrush into the mixture and flick it onto the cupcakes with your finger.

Place three mini Easter eggs on the top of the cupcakes for the finishing touch!

How to store Easter Cupcakes

These easy spring cupcakes will do best stored in the refrigerator. Place them in an airtight container that is tall enough that it won’t smush the frosting. They will keep for about 4-5 days.

I do not recommend freezing these cupcakes.

Can I use store-bought cupcake mix?

You can absolutely buy store-bought cupcake mix to make Easter cupcakes. However, I think these homemade cupcakes are absolutely delicious and way better than a boxed mix!

Do I have to have a stand mixer to make these cupcakes for Easter?

Making cupcakes is way easier to create if you have a stand mixer, but it is not something you have to have! You can use a stand mixer, just be prepared to give a good amount of arm strength to it.

These bakery quality cupcakes will be your new favorite to bake around Easter!