These cute cupcakes are Easter Bunny approved. They’re chocolate. They’re bright and fun. And they have a carrot piped on top!
200g butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
3 eggs
¾ cups cocoa
1 cup self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot water
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the cocoa, flour and vanilla. Finally, carefully mix in the water.
Fill a greased 12-hole muffin tin with the mixture and bake at 180°C for 20–30 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before icing.
Buttercream Icing
150g butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp of vanilla or zest and juice of an orange
Orange food colouring (I used gel food colouring from www.sweetpeaparties.co.nz)
Beat the butter then add the icing sugar 1 cup at a time. Add the vanilla or orange and continue to beat until light and fluffy. When happy with the consistency add a few drops of orange food colouring, mixing well to gauge the colour and if you need to, add more.
To ice the cupcakes.
Use an icing tip to make a hole in the cupcake (I used a 10mm round tip). Do this by pressing the tip into the top of the cupcake. Fill a piping bag fitted with a larger round tip (approx. 14mm) and fill the hole created, continuing to pipe above to form a carrot like shape.
To complete the look I melted some green coloured chocolate melts (picked up from Sweet Pea Parties) into shards and poked these in the top. A green leaf lolly might work too.
Styling tips
Why does Christmas have all the fun? Jo and Helen from The Heritage Trading Co. in Cambridge believe you should decorate your house or at least your table for any occasion. Be it springtime, Christmas, winter solstice or Easter.
And by decorating they don’t mean cheap disposable junk but treasures you have collected and can bring out or use in a new light.
Here are some of their top tips.
Layers – Create layers of interest by stacking things, be this trays or old tins.
Be organised – Just as you have a box for your Christmas decorations, have one with your Easter ones.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match – Mix colours, mix patterns and mix old and new!