Mini Egg Cupcakes for Mini Hands

I’ve been seeing Spring/Easter themed baking going on lately, and I thought I’d hop on down the baking trail. (Sorry for the super lame pun!) I wanted to do something that would be fun for kiddos and also delicious for anyone. So, with some help from the littlest baker, we came up with Confetti cupcakes with lemon coconut butter cream, topped with mini eggs, shredded coconut and lemon zest. Definitely has that Easter/Spring vibe.

Now this cupcake recipe is generally easy to follow, it calls for egg whites which is the only “tricky” part for a newbie baker. But you can practice when you’re making eggs for breakfast or what have you. I carefully crack an egg and gently pass the yolk back and forth between the shell halves over a bowl until the white is all in the bowl. I’m sure with a little practice, anyone can whip up a batch of these sweet fun treats.

Make sure to gently fold in those sprinkles at the end!

In the cold months I will put my tray of baked goods outside to cool off quick so we can frost sooner, not sure if that’s something people do, but it works! (If I had a bigger freezer…)

Confetti Cupcakes with Lemon-Coconut Buttercream

Prep time: 25 minutes
Bake time: 15-20 minutes
Cool & Decorate: 45
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Makes 24 cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes;

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites
1/4 cup sprinkles (any colour!)

For the buttercream;

1 cup butter at room temp
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon shredded coconut (unsweetened) plus a little extra for decoration
1 teaspoon lemon zest plus a little extra for decoration
1 bag mini eggs for decoration

Directions for Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350F and line 24 muffin cups.
Blend flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Add shortening, 2/3 of the milk and vanilla.
Beat on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes.
Add in remaining milk and egg whites.
Beat 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
Gently fold in sprinkles with rubber spatula.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin liners 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack.
Cool completely before frosting, about 25-30 minutes.
Frost and top with mini eggs, and sprinkle with lemon zest and shredded coconut .

Directions for Lemon-Coconut Buttercream

Cream butter in medium bowl with electric mixer
Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time until desired consistency, mix 3-5 minutes.
Add lemon juice, zest and coconut.
If frosting gets too soft, you can pop it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm it up. My hands are always so warm so as I frost it tends to get softer!