Easter Bunny Cupcakes

Hoppy Easter! There’s not much cuter than a fun animal themed cupcakes, especially if it’s Easter bunny themed!

What could be more fun than some joyously decorated easter cupcakes, and these Easter bunnies borrowing into their cupcake burrows are sure to bring a smile to anyone who is lucky enough to be given one. I got the idea from a picture I saw online (sadly I can’t take full credit for the cute look) but have adapted this BBC Good Food idea into a Lucy’s Friendly Foods version. I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this cute addition to Easter.

As it’s Easter, it’s almost obligatory for chocolate to feature so the base of these cupcakes is a delicious rich and moist chocolate sponge – besides, in my opinion the chocolate makes it resemble a rabbit borrow, just a little bit!

I’ve made my Easter bunnies white, for some reason that seemed right, and so it’s vanilla heavy buttercream mounds garnished with fondant icing bunny feet and tails. You just need about ¼ of a pack of white fondant (Sainsbury’s own brand is may contain nuts but not peanuts, or Beau brand you can buy from Nutfree Marketplace is good for everyone)

Easter Bunny Cupcakes

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, seam-free, vegetarian and vegan)

 

Makes 6-8 cupcakes

150ml dairy-free milk

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

60g dairy-free margarine, melted

140g self-raising flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

100g caster sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
2. In a jug combine the milk, lemon juice, vanilla (if using) and bicarb. Set aside.
3. Melt the dairy-free margarine, set aside.
4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa and salt. Stir in the sugar.
5. Pour the melted margarine into the milk mixture and give it a good stir. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together to form a smooth batter. 
6. 2/3^rds fill each cupcake liner and bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and a knife comes out clean.
7. Remove from the tray and cool on a wire rack.

White Vanilla Buttercream

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan)

enough to generously cover the 6-8 cupcakes in the recipe above

75g dairy-free butter or margarine

275g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste

½ tbsp dairy-free milk

Plus about ¼ pack fondant icing and a few drop of pink food colour

1. Whisk the margarine until it is light and fluffy
2. Add the icing sugar, vanilla paste and dairy-free milk and whisk until you have a light buttercream.
3. Pipe or spread a generous amount onto the top of each cooled cupcake

To decorate: pipe or spread a mound of white buttercream  onto the middle of each cupcakes. Smooth well so it could look like a bunny bottom. Secure on two back feet (with pink toe beans for added cuteness) and a bunny tail, both of which are moulded out of fondant icing.