I haven’t make cupcakes in a while, so naturally these Easter cupcakes with white chocolate frosting seemed the perfect remedy. Made with 100% Dutch-processed cocoa powder and delicious Menier chocolate drops, these are topped with a luxurious white chocolate buttercream and finished with cute Cadbury’s Mini eggs and 100s and 1000s. You can even make mini versions with a mini cupcake tin – which are even cuter for little hands to find over Easter weekend. They’re tender and moist and have a gorgeous deep, rich bittersweet chocolate flavour that kids will love.
How else can I serve these Easter cupcakes?
In my opinion, the buttercream frosting makes these. However, if you want to simplify this bake there are a few other ways you can enjoy them:
- Serve them without the icing. Warm and chocolatey, straight from the oven is just as good as dressed up!
- Slather them in salty butter or whipped cream. If you find icing too sweet for your liking, simply halve the cupcakes and spread salty butter over the inside. Alternatively, serve with freshly whipped cream – you won’t be disappointed.
- Make mini versions. Mini cupcakes are adorable – simply reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.
Recipe variations on these Easter cupcakes:
Want to jazz these up a little more? Here are a few ideas to get you going:
- Add Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Instead of using dark chocolate drops, chop up half a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and mix into the batter before baking.
- Swap the chocolate drops for jazzles. Super fun and the perfect colour scheme for Easter, you can jazz up your cupcakes with chopped white chocolate jazzles instead.
- Caramelise your white chocolate for the icing. Yep, the ULTIMATE flavour combo.
How to caramelise white chocolate:
You’ll need:
300g white chocolate (must have a minimum 30% cocoa butter content)
- Preheat your oven to 125C / 260F, then roughly chop the chocolate and add it to a non-stick rimmed baking tray.
- Place the baking tray into the preheated oven for around 1-1.5hrs, removing it every 15 minutes to give it a good stir. I like to use a rubber spatula for this, so you can really scrape it off the tray. The stirring helps avoid it getting grainy and stops it from burning or stiffening up. This is key to making a good caramelised chocolate.
- Once the chocolate has turned a rich golden brown colour, remove it from the oven and scrape it into a container. You can even use small microwaveable plastic Tupperware so it resembles an actual chocolate bar.
- Pop your bars in the fridge until they’re solid.
Prepping, storing and freezing these Easter cupcakes:
Can I freeze these?
These cupcakes are beautifully tender, and are much better eaten straight from the oven on the day. Saying that, you can freeze them naked, without the frosting. Once baked, wrapped individually in parchment paper and place in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to eat them, simply thaw overnight in the fridge, and top with freshly made buttercream frosting.
Can I make these ahead of time?
You can make the batter the night before and keep it in the fridge over night to bake first thing in the morning. They may need a few extra minutes in the oven if the batter hasn’t been brought to room temperature. If you prefer them without icing, you can also bake these the night or day before and rewarm them in the oven at 160C / 325F for about 10 mins, or until they’re warm and chocolate has melted slightly.
Easter cupcakes with white chocolate frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 185 g cake or pastry flour
- 30 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 120 ml sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300 g chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 140 g unsalted butter
- 225 g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1 Nespresso pod prepared like a regular coffee – you'll need 120ml liquid in total. Alternatively, dissolve 1tsp instant coffee in 120ml boiling water.
For the frosting
- 400 g white chocolate roughly chopped
- 400 g unsalted butter softened, at room temperature
- 400 g icing sugar sifted
- 4 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
Toppings
- 2 bags Cadbury's Mini Eggs
- 100s and 1000s sprinkles
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F and line a cupcake tin with cases.
- Melt 130g of the chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl sat over a saucepan of boiling water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir every now and then until completely melted, then set aside to cool.
- In a stand mixer, or using an electric whisk, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. This should take anywhere between 5-7 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk again until everything is nicely incorporated.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Sift your dry ingredients (the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda + the salt) into a separate bowl, and mix together.
- In a small Pyrex jug, mix the buttermilk with the coffee and set aside.
- Add the dry ingredients to your mixture in thirds, alternating it with a third of the buttermilk, until everything has been added – mixing after each addition. Be careful not to overmix your batter here!
- Add the melted chocolate to your bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold it into the mixture followed by the chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate).
- Portion your batter evenly between your cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes, until well-risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. In the meantime, make your frosting.
For the frosting
- Place the chocolate into a pyrex bowl and set over a saucepan of boiling water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water. Melt the chocolate on a low heat until entirely melted, stirring all the time, then set aside to cool.
- Cream the butter with an electric hand whisk, then add the vanilla bean paste and whisk again until smooth.
- When the white chocolate is cool, add it to the butter and whip again until fully incorporated.
- Add the icing sugar in two separate stages, beating well after each addition, then pop in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Fit a piping bag with a star nozzle, then remove your frosting from the fridge. Use a rubber spatula to smooth your frosting in the bowl and remove any air bubbles, then fill the piping bag.
- Pipe swirls onto your cupcakes then top with mini eggs and 100s and 1000s.
Notes
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