Bird Nest Cupcakes

These bird nest cupcakes are a perfect Easter treat to make with kids! I used my vanilla buttermilk cupcake recipe, cream cheese frosting, and topped with toasted coconut for the nest. On top the cupcakes, are mini chocolate eggs to make for an easy Easter dessert!

 

When it comes to decorating cupcakes, I like to keep things fun and whimsical. I’m more about the baking, than the decorating! But these adorable cupcakes were easy to make, and even easier to decorate. 

And when it comes to Easter candy, nothing reigns supreme more than Cadbury mini eggs. Maybe that’s why I’ve been on a roll lately, and made some delicious mini egg treats lately? Like these Easter blondies, Cadbury mini egg cookies, Cadbury mini egg brownies, and Cadbury mini egg fudge. I won’t stop until they take the candy out of the store until next year!

Until then, we have this adorable bird nest cupcake recipe. I decided to use my vanilla buttermilk cupcake, but you could really use any cupcake recipe you like. Try my carrot cake cupcake recipe or my easy chocolate cupcakes instead! For the frosting I used cream cheese frosting, but again you can really use any frosting recipe you like. You could use my vanilla buttercream, or try my chocolate frosting recipe!

To decorate these Easter nest cupcakes I decided to toast some shredded coconut and then top with Cadbury mini eggs! I’m not sure I could love this fun dessert more! Can’t you imagine enjoying one of these after an Easter egg hunt?

See Also:

• Peanut butter cream cheese frosting is the best frosting to pair with a chocolate or vanilla cupcake!
• When it’s summertime, then it’s time to make these S’mores cupcakes with toasted marshmallow frosting!
• Calling all Oreo lovers with these Oreo cupcakes made with a vanilla cake batter and Oreo frosting.
• Kids are going to love these Cookie dough cupcakes stuffed with edible cookie dough.
• This easy vanilla cupcake recipe is made with melted butter so it comes together in minutes!

Why I Love These Bird Nest Cupcakes

• Perfect spring cupcakes for baby showers, Easter, or any spring celebration!
• Made with homemade cupcakes instead of a boxed mix for best flavor.
• Easy decorating project perfect for the kids to get involved with!
• Topped with chocolate candy eggs and toasted coconut make for an easy, delicious sweet treats.

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Ingredients Needed

For the cupcakes:

• Cake flour – Cake flour has a lower protein content than regular all-purpose flour and yields a more tender cupcake. If you don’t have any, you can make your own cake flour easily! Be sure to check out all my cake flour recipes!
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Granulated sugar
• Unsalted butter – You want your butter at room temperature so it can be creamed with the sugar properly and enough air is incorporated to create a tall, fluffy cupcake. Learn how to soften your butter quickly here. If you use salted butter then omit the added salt. 
• Eggs – You want your eggs at room temperature. Cold eggs will seize up the butter and cause your batter to curdle. This can result in cupcakes that don’t rise properly.
• Vanilla extract
• Buttermilk – This creates a tender, moist cupcake. If you don’t have any make your own buttermilk, you can make some! Learn how to make buttermilk here. 

For the frosting:

• Cream cheese – You want to use full-fat cream cheese in the blocks (not the tub variety). Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature.
• Unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar – If you don’t have any, you can make your own powdered sugar!
• Pinch salt
• Vanilla extract
• Toasted coconut 
• Cadbury mini eggs

How To Make Bird Nest Cupcakes

Make cupcakes:

Prep oven and pans. Position rack to center of oven and preheat oven to 350^oF. Place cupcake liners into muffin pans and set aside.

Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Cream butter and sugar. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy. 

Add eggs and vanilla. Add in the two eggs and beat to combine. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add in the vanilla and mix to combine.

Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk. Add flour mixture alternately to buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.  to butter mixture and beat to combine. Stop mixing once the flour has been incorporated. Do not overmix. 

Bake cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners to ⅔ full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top of a cupcake springs back to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Make frosting: 

Make the frosting. In a bowl of your stand mixer, with paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes to soften. Add the confectioners sugar ½ cup at a time, with mixer on low, and beat to combine. Scraping down the bowl as needed.  

Add the vanilla, and salt. Beat to combine on low speed, then increase the speed to medium-high speed and beat for 7-8 minutes until light and fluffy.

Assemble cupcakes:

Add frosting. Spread cream cheese frosting on top of each cupcake. Or you can also pipe on using a piping bag and large star tip. Pipe frosting in a circle.

Add coconut. Sprinkle on toasted coconut (or you can also dunk the cupcake top into the frosting). 

Add eggs. Top with 3 mini eggs right into the center of the cupcake.

Recipe Variations

• Use a different candy! Instead of Cadbury mini eggs use jelly beans instead!
• Make edible grass with the coconut instead. Add some green food coloring to the coconut to make green coconut for the bird nests!
• Use a different cupcake recipe. You can use any cupcake recipe you like! Try my carrot cake cupcakes for Easter instead!
• Take a shortcut. You can definitely use a boxed cake mix or a can of chocolate frosting (or white frosting) instead of a homemade buttercream frosting if you’re short on time.
• Use a different piping tip! You can pipe the frosting on with a different tip like a round tip. Or try a grass tip! Or simply spread the frosting on with an offset spatula.
• Use coconut flakes instead of shredded coconut

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes To Try

• Self Rising Flour Biscuits
• Lemon Cookies
• Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
• 20 Self Rising Flour Recipes
• Milk Bar Cake