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Hey again! It’s Chelsea back from Chelsea’s Messy Apron. Can you believe Easter is this Sunday?ย April has just flown by for me, I can’t believe it’s already Easter this Sunday. I have some incredibly simple Easter cupcakes in caseย you need a last minute dessert for this weekend!ย The great thing about these cupcakes though, is they are perfect for all of Spring and would even make a great Mother’s Day treat. Plus, they require minimal ingredients to decorate – no fancy icing bags or tips needed!

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For these cupcakes I used a cake mix and doctored it up a bit. That’s my favorite way to do cakes or cupcakes. It’s simple, but the cake still tastes rich and dense. I use a cake mix that already has pudding mix in it and then add an additional pudding mix. The double pudding makes for some super dense and fudgy cupcakes. I also add in some sour cream and Greekย yogurtย to the mix which adds to the density of the cake. A couple extra eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and some buttermilk and the cake is ready to go into the oven.

A lot of the times I’ll use a substitute for buttermilk. I hate buying a whole container to just throw it away if it goes bad and I don’t use it all. All you do is get a scant cup of milk (I like to use 2% because of the creaminess) and add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. I prefer vinegar, but both will work. Stir together and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes before adding to the mixture.

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Once these cupcakes are baked and cooled, it’s time to decorate!

I frosted each cupcake with dyed cream cheese frosting. You can make your own frosting, but I wanted to keep these simple so I just used it from a store-bought tub. Slather on the frosting and then immediately top with 1-2 tablespoons of dyed coconut.

Dying coconut is super simple – just stir around the coconut with a few drops of food dye until the color you desire is reached. Sometimes I will knead the coconut and dye with my hand if I want it to really pick up the color. But, be warned, your hand will be dyed too!

Finally, arrange the “flowers” by frosting the bottom of peanut M&M’s (or another similar candy) and pressing them in a flower form on to the cupcake. And there you go – super simple, last minute cupcakes for Easter, or Mother’s Day! Enjoy ๐Ÿ™‚

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Spring Flower Cupcakes

By: Chelsea Lords
ย I have some incredibly simple Easter cupcakes in caseย you need a last minute dessert for this weekend!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes
Total Time: 32 minutes
Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients 

Cupcakes:

  • 1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix 15.25 oz.
  • 1 package chocolate fudge pudding mix 3.9 oz., dry
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt or plain
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Decorating:

  • 1 container cream cheese frosting
  • Green food dye
  • 1-1/2 cups sweetened coconut shredded
  • 1 bag spring-colored peanut M&M's

Instructions 

Cupcakes:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, sift together the pudding and cake mix.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk (check post for a substitute) and vanilla extract.
  • Mix wet and dry until combined (do not over-stir or beat in too much air)
  • Fill up the liners 3/4ths the way full and bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove and let cool completely.

Decorating:

  • In a medium-sized bowl, combine the vanilla frosting with the green food dye. Mix until you reach the desired shade of green.
  • Generously frost each cupcake with the green frosting.
  • In another bowl, combine the coconut with several drops of green food coloring. Stir and mix with your hands to thoroughly dye the coconut green.
  • Place a tablespoon of dyed green coconut on each cupcake and press it into the frosting to ensure it will stay.
  • Slightly separating the coconut from the frosting, attach the M&M's in the shape of a flower. If needed, use extra frosting to attach the M&M's and get them to stay in place.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 268mgPotassium: 111mgFiber: 1gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 61IUCalcium: 45mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Chelsea Lords

Chelsea is the blogger behind Chelsea's Messy Apron. She is always experimenting in the kitchen and making new things to eat. "Or I am in the kitchen eating. Both are good." She tries to eat a balanced diet of healthful foods, but she loves desserts. You will find most of her recipes are healthy and easy, but still taste great! She has found that eating is all about balance and she hopes that that is the case on her site!

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2 Comments

  1. My son and I are making these! He’s insane for the dough — can’t imagine how great the cupcakes are going to be! :))

  2. Less messy way to dye coconut… put coconut & food coloring into small, resealable baggie + shake / knead = tinted coconut