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Easter nest cupcakes recipe

41 ratings

Try our spectacular nest cupcakes for an Easter baking recipe that's hard to beat. With two layers of light chocolate sponge, a rich and creamy buttercream icing and a delicate homemade nest topping, these Easter cupcakes really are a work of art. See method

Serves 12 (Makes 12)
40 mins to prepare and 20 mins to cook
499 calories / serving
Vegetarian

Ingredients

175g butter
175g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
50g cocoa powder
3 eggs

For the buttercream

75g Trex margarine
75g unsalted butter
½ tsp vanilla paste or essence
200g icing sugar, sifted
25g cocoa powder

For the chocolate drizzle icing

75g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
25g unsalted butter
3 tbsp double cream

For the nests

100g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
2 large Shredded Wheat, broken into shreds (taking care to try to keep some longer strands)
Chocolate micro eggs to decorate

No self-raising flour? Add 2 tsp baking powder for every 150g plain flour

Each serving contains

Energy
2200kj
499kcal 25%
Fat
31g 44%
Saturates
16g 81%
Sugars
44g 49%
Salt
0.4g 6%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 60g Protein 5.7g Fibre 3.1g

Method

Preheat the oven to gas 5, 180°C, 160°C fan. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until almost a whipped and creamy mixture is formed. Add the flour, cocoa and eggs and fold together then whisk again until creamy.
Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin and divide the mixture between them. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins until well risen and firm on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 mins in the tin before using a small palette knife to ease each of the cakes out of the tin and onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the buttercream, blend the butter and Trex in a bowl until creamy, then add the vanilla paste or essence, icing sugar and cocoa and mix carefully to avoid an icing sugar ‘cloud’, then beat until smooth and creamy.
Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Cut the cakes in half horizontally and pipe a layer of the buttercream onto the base layer, then top with the second layer. Pipe a rosette of icing on the top of the cake, starting close to the edges and ending in a peak on the top.
Now make the chocolate drizzle icing. Place the chocolate, butter and cream into a small heatproof bowl placed over a pan of gently simmering water and stir until melted, smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 mins. Place into a small piping bag and snip the end to form a thin point. Drizzle over the buttercream. Set aside to set while making the nests.
To make the nests, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and add the broken Shredded Wheat and very gently stir into the chocolate to allow it to coat the wheat strands. Using small tea cups, place a tablespoonful of the mixture into each of the cups and shape into a nest shape, with a hollow centre, to resemble a nest. Chill for 10 mins, or freeze for 2-3 mins until set firm, then remove from the cups using a small palette knife. Place on top of each of the cakes, squishing down the icing peak to ‘glue’ the nest in place. Fill each of the nests with a few micro eggs and serve.