My Easter Surprise Cupcakes feature a hidden jelly bean center and a topping of buttercream grass and chocolate Easter bunnies. They're a from-scratch treat that will delight kids and adults alike at New England Easter brunches and parties.
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When you want a unique and fun treat to make for your kids' Easter party, or to bring to an Easter brunch, whip up a batch of Easter Surprise Cupcakes!
Tender yellow cupcakes are topped with green buttercream "grass", and hiding in the grass are tiny chocolate Easter bunnies! They're not the only surprise, though. Take a bit of the cupcake and find the hidden treasure—colorful jelly beans!
I'll show you how to easily hide the jelly beans inside, and give you more ideas for decorating these surprise-inside cupcakes, too.
In a nutshell... 🐿️
- What this is: Tender, from-scratch yellow cupcakes inspired by the Technicolor gleam of New England Easter displays and celebrations. They have a whimsical topping of buttercream "grass" and a hidden pocket of colorful jelly beans.
- You'll love this part: The pure joy of watching kids and family bite into these cupcakes to find the hidden store of candy! The cupcakes add a little extra magic to Easter brunches and parties.
- How it's made: Whip up a simple yellow cake batter and bake it into cupcakes. Hollow out the centers to hide the jelly beans. Then top them with green frosting and miniature chocolate Easter bunnies.
Jump to:
The sweet and colorful inspiration for Easter Surprise Cupcakes
In the weeks leading to Easter Sunday, I love to walk the holiday aisle of the grocery store to take in the Technicolor gleam! Those displays of rainbow plastic eggs, pastel Easter basket grass, foil-wrapped chocolates, boxes of marshmallow Peeps in ever-expanding choices of flavors and shapes, and bags upon bags of jelly beans and malted chocolate robins eggs. A kaleidoscope of never-seen-in-nature shades of pink, blue, yellow, purple and green.
And of course, there are chocolate rabbits, too! Chocolaty bunnies standing at attention in that pastel rainbow sea. The cheaper chocolate bunnies stare out from plastic wrapped boxes, always with one that white candy eye that gives them a terrified expression. As if they're wondering if their heads are next to be bitten off!
Or maybe they're stunned by all that gleaming color around them.
All that chocolate and color and sweetness—and cuteness!—are the inspiration for these Easter Surprise cupcakes. Instead of simply piling jelly beans, Easter grass, and chocolate bunnies into baskets, they get to play together in a pretty little cupcake.
For Easter brunch!
Egg and Tomato Strata
Loaded with savory cheddar cheese, this strata is a brunchtime favorite.
Why you'll love Easter Surprise Cupcakes
Start with a simple recipe for from-scratch cupcakes, a tender and moist yellow cake that are delicious enough all on their own. However they're even better for hiding the sweet jellybean surprise. I'll show you how to hollow out the center of the baked cupcakes where the jellybeans are secreted away.
The cupcakes are topped with a rich buttercream that has a little food coloring added to make it look like grass. You can pipe the frosting on in tufts like I did, or simply spread it over the top in peaks and swirls.
The final touch is to add some miniature chocolate bunnies to the frosting grass. One treat that makes an annual appearance with the Easter candies and decor are tiny chocolate bunnies; Iddy Biddy Bunnies from Russel Stover. They're little packages of inch-high rabbits, perfect for hiding in buttercream on the tops of these cupcakes.
If you've ever seen the hilarious stop-motion Wallace & Gromit movie, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the sight of these little rabbits on the tops of these creative Easter cupcakes will make you think of the hundreds of bunnies playing on the grounds of Tottington Hall!
If Iddy Biddy Bunnies aren't available at your store, don't worry—the Easter aisle at the store or online has plenty of options for you! Some decoration options include:
- Miniature chocolate rabbits from other brands, such as those carried at the Vermont Country Store—with or without their foil.
- Marshmallow Peeps in any color you like
- A little pile of robin eggs malted milk chocolates
- Easter-colors candy corn
- Colorful, foil-wrapped chocolate eggs
When you bite into the cupcake and find the jellybean stash, you'll experience, in miniature, that same color explosion that I experienced in the Easter aisle at the grocery store!
Holiday mornings!
Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas
For your Easter brunch or morning with family, sweet and savory dishes like quiches, muffins, and casseroles that you can prepare in advance.
🔪 How to make Easter Surprise Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for the from-scratch cupcakes. My go-to flour brand is always King Arthur Baking.
- Cornstarch: Added to the cake batter, cornstarch helps give the cake a more tender crumb.
- Butter: Choose a good quality, unsalted butter, such as Cabot or Kate's of Maine, for the best flavor in both the cupcakes and the frosting.
- Baking powder: Activated by the liquid ingredients and the heat of the oven, baking powder helps the cupcakes rise and achieve a light texture.
- Sugars: Granulated sugar sweetens the cupcakes, while finer-textured confectioners' sugar is used to make the buttercream frosting.
- Eggs: To make the Easter cupcake batter use large eggs; two whole eggs and four egg yolks.
- Vanilla: My favorite pure vanilla extract brand is Nielsen-Massey; the flavor is deep and rich in the cake and frosting.
- Milk: Bring the batter together with whole milk, which adds richness. A little milk also goes into the buttercream frosting.
- Vegetable shortening: I add a small amount of vegetable shortening (such as Crisco) to the buttercream, to help it whip up to a light texture and to stabilize it at room temperature.
- Salt: A little salt in the cupcake batter helps make the overall flavor brighter and more delectable.
- Food coloring: Add a few drops of liquid or paste green food coloring to the buttercream, until you get a nice, grassy green.
- Jelly beans: Use any kind of jelly bean you like! The classic assortment is always good; if you like sour or tropical flavors, brands like Starburst, Jelly Belly, and Sour Patch Kids are just what you're looking for.
- Miniature chocolate Easter bunnies: One option is Iddy biddy Bunnies from Russell-Stover brand. Or, use mini bunnies from another brand like these from Vermont Country Store. Or try different candies like robin eggs malted candies, foil-wrapped Easter mini eggs, Easter corn, or marshmallow Peeps.
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Make the cake batter
Whisk the cake batter ingredients together, including flour, sugar, egg yolks, and eggs. Filled two paper-lined cupcake pans with the batter.
Bake the cupcakes
Bake the cupcakes until they're set and very lightly browned at the edges. Move the cupcakes to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Make the buttercream frosting
Beat together butter, shortening, confectioners' sugar, milk, and some green food coloring to make the frosting.
Hide the jelly beans
Use a small knife or corer to cut a cylinder out of the centers of the cupcakes. Add several jelly beans to the holes. Then, use the tops of the cake cylinders to cover the holes and hide the candies.
Add the frosting "grass"
Spread a thin layer of green buttercream over the tops, then use a piping bag to add tufts to look like grass. (Or spread the frosting in thick swirls instead.)
Add the chocolate bunnies
Press a few miniature chocolate bunnies into the tops of each cupcake. Then they're ready to enjoy!
Easter Surprise Cupcakes FAQs
Yes, if you'd rather use a convenient boxed cake mix, that'll will work just fine for this recipe. Omit the ingredients listed for the cupcake batter, and follow the directions on your boxed cake mix. Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, continue with the recipe directions to fill and frost them. Use a white, yellow, spice, or confetti boxed cake mix.
Tips:
- The eggs and milk in this recipe should be at room temperature. To make this happen quickly, place cold eggs into a bowl filled with warm (not hot) water. (Do this before separating yolks from whites.) They should come to room temperature in about 20 minutes. The milk can be microwaved for 20 to seconds until it has just lots its chill.
- The cupcakes need to be cooled completely before filling and frosting. You can make them up to two days in advance. Keep them in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Use a fluted piping tip to cover the tops of the cupcakes with tufts of "grass". If this isn't an option, use a knife or offset spatula to swirl frosting over the tops instead.
These cupcakes are so much fun to set out at family Easter brunch gatherings, to bring to egg hunting party, or just to make as a treat for the hungry, bunny-loving fans in your house! They will be very HOPPY indeed!
The Easter Surprise Cupcakes recipe is below! And here are more recipes to make for your Easter brunches and holiday get-togethers:
📖 Recipe
Easter Surprise Cupcakes
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Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 4 egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups milk, lukewarm
For the buttercream frosting:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 cups confectioners' sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- green food coloring
Decorations:
- 1½ cups jelly beans (regular, or brands like Jelly Belly or Starburst)
- miniature chocolate bunnies (Such as Iddy Biddy Bunnies from Russell Stover, or foil-wrapped mini chocolate Easter bunnies from other brands. Or, see the Notes below for other candy topping ideas.)
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare two 12-cup standard cupcake pans: grease and flour the cupcake wells or use paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 6 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and the 1½ cups granulated sugar for 5 minutes: the mixture should be fluffy and pale yellow in color.
- Add in the 2 large eggs at room temperature one at a time, mixing after each addition. Slowly add in the 4 egg yolks at room temperature while the mixer is running on low. Mix in the 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
- Add in about a third of the flour mixture and mix the batter on low speed. Add in half of the 1¼ cups milk, lukewarm and mix it into the batter. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, the rest of the milk and then the last of the flour until the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth.
- Fill each cupcake well about ⅔ full with batter (about 2 ounces in each well.) Wipe away any drips of batter on the top of the pan.
Bake the cupcakes:
- Place the pans in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean or with only a few crumbs. Turn the cupcakes out onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
Prepare the buttercream:
- Beat together the ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened and the ¼ cup vegetable shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix in the 1 pinch salt.
- For the 6 cups confectioners' sugar and ½ cup milk beat in 1 cup of sugar to start, followed by a little of the milk. Continue alternating the sugar and milk until all of the sugar has been mixed in. (You may not need all of the milk.)
- Add in the 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract and a few drops of the green food coloring. Beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy. Keep mixing in more green food coloring a few drops at a time until you get the right shade of grassy green.
Hide the jelly beans:
- Cut out the centers of the cupcakes: I like to use the tip of a straight vegetable peeler or you can use a paring knife. Cut a circle about 1 inch in diameter by inserting the knife or peeler ⅔ of the way down into the cupcake.
- Use the knife or peeler to pull out the cylinder of cake: cut off most of the cylinder to just leave the top that will go back on the cupcake. Scrape out the hole inside the cupcake just a bit so that the jellybeans will fit.
- For the 1½ cups jelly beans: drop a few jellybeans into the hole: I had success with 6 jellybeans per cupcake. Place the cake cap over the jellybeans and press it in place gently to make the cap flush with the top. Repeat with the rest of the cupcakes.
Frost the cupcakes:
- Spread a thin layer of green frosting over the top of the cupcakes as a crumb coat. Place the rest of the green buttercream into a piping bag with a star tip.
- Cover the tops of the cupcakes with tufts of frosting. (Alternatively if you'd rather not pipe, just use a knife to spread frosting on each cupcake. Make the frosting thick and rugged: the kind of texture little rabbits would like to frolic in.)
Add the bunnies or other decor to the tops:
- For the miniature chocolate bunnies: add a few tiny chocolate bunnies to the frosted tops of each cupcake, pressing them in just a little to sit in the frosting. Enjoy!
To store the cupcakes:
- The cupcakes can be stored in a cupcake storer or covered in plastic for up to three days. Makes about 23 servings.
Notes
- The eggs and milk in this recipe should be at room temperature. To make this happen quickly, place cold eggs into a bowl filled with warm (not hot) water. (Do this before separating yolks from whites.) They should come to room temperature in about 20 minutes. The milk can be microwaved for 20 to 30 seconds until it has just lots its chill.
- For the jelly beans in this recipe, I recommend using Jelly Belly or Starburst varieties, as they are smaller than generic jelly beans and therefore you can get more of them into each cupcake. Not to mention they have great, intense flavors!
- For the miniature chocolate rabbits for the tops, look for Iddy biddy Bunnies from Russell-Stover brand, or mini bunnies from another brand like Vermont Country Store. Or try different candies on the cupcakes like robin eggs malted candies, foil-wrapped Easter mini eggs, Easter corn, or marshmallow Peeps.
- Cake recipe slightly adapted from a recipe in The Baker's Manual by Amendola/Rees. The buttercream frosting is slightly adapted from the Easy Buttercream recipe in the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.
Nutrition
Anonymous says
Such a delight! So tasty and rich. And the jelly bean center is so clever!
Nancy Mock says
Aw, thank you so much! I'm really happy you enjoyed them, and especially the hidden surprise!