Recipe: Easter Bunny Cupcakes

Easter is all about spending time relaxing with friends and family. Our brilliant in-store cook, Deb made these gorgeous Easter Bunny cupcakes in our Demonstration Kitchen recently. They’re fun, delicious – and so easy to make and decorate that the whole family will want to get involved! Here’s Deb’s recipe…

Ingredients

• 125g butter, softened
• ⅔ cup caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 1½ cups self raising flour
• ¼ cup milk

Bunny Decoration

• ¾ cup shredded coconut
• 24 Strawberries and Cream lollies
• 24 blue mini M&Ms
• 12 red mini M&Ms
• 12 small pink or white marshmallows, halved horizontally
• 24 white TicTacs

Buttercream icing

• 150g butter, softened
• 2 cups of icing sugar mixture, sifted
• 1½ tablespoons of milk
• 1tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Line a 12-hole, ⅓ cup capacity muffin pan with paper cupcake cases.
2. To make the cupcake mixture, place butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour and milk into the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low speed, gradually increasing the speed until well combined.
3. Spoon mixture into prepared cupcake cases. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Leave in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. To make buttercream icing, use your mixer to beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add icing sugar mixture, milk and vanilla essence and beat until well-combined. Reserve ¼ cup icing and spread cupcakes with remaining icing, then sprinkle with shredded coconut.
5. Trim a few millimetres off the end of each of the Strawberry and Cream lollies, then use a little of the remaining icing to secure them in place to form the bunny’s ears.
6. Press two blue M&Ms into each cupcake to make eyes, and use one red M&M to form a nose. Use two halved marshmallows to make the bunny’s cheeks and two TicTacs to create teeth.
7. Repeat with remaining cupcakes, then set aside for ten minutes or until set.

If you’d like to make the carrot cupcakes shown in the image above, Deb adds green food colouring to her icing and uses Wilton Pipe 233 to create grass, then moulds individual carrots from orange fondant, with dill leaves in the top. Of course, you can get creative and decorate your own Easter cupcakes however you like – send us your images and we’ll share them on the blog next week!

Equipment

Inspired? Great! Here are just a few of the products Deb recommends…

• Chef’N Cakewalk Cake Decorating Set. This cute set contains everything you’ll need to begin decorating your own cupcakes, cakes and more. It’s easy to use, includes ideas to get you started and it’s heaps of fun.
• Chicago Metallic Commercial II 12 Cup Muffin Pan. Made from heavy-duty steel, this Muffin Pan is designed to cope with a lifetime of use. Hardcore bakers will love Chicago Metallic’s range!
• Meri-Meri Cake Shop Kit. With 120 adorable cupcake cases, this cute gift set from Australia’s own Meri-Meri has all your cupcake needs covered.
• Kenwood Chef Sense Zested Yellow Kitchen Machine. These mixers are new to Peter’s and we’re a little obsessed. Once you’ve taken a look at their vintage-inspired colours and ravishingly retro shape, you will be too! For a limited time only, each Kenwood Chef Sense Mixer includes a bonus Food Processor attachment, so be quick!