Easter Cupcake Masterpieces (hint: easier than it sounds!)

BY MEGAN ARMSTRONG

Easter has always been one of my favourite holidays. As a child it was always so much fun to shop for a new outfit and to await the arrival of the Easter Bunny. Waking up on Easter Sunday to scour the house, trying to find more eggs and jelly beans than my older brothers. We always did something with family, either at our house or one of theirs.

These days I love to see the sheer joy on the faces of my children.  I am uncertain who has more fun at this time of the year, me hiding the treats, or the kids when they find what they have been so desperately looking for.

As my children Kate and Will get older, the fun associated with this holiday grows. It isn’t just about finding candy, or getting dressed up, or the Easter Bunny. It’s about decorating and family and being together.

As much as I love being fancy, I don’t always have the time in my busy schedule. I also want to have the kids help as much as possible, so that when they grow up they can share their experiences with their families. With this in mind I went for ease of execution on the baking front – I opted for a boxed mix with butter cream icing – and made delicious Mini Easter Cupcakes. To make it our own (and incredibly fancy) I added food colouring (gels), jelly beans and mini eggs and brought out my piping bag for the icing. I also grabbed some themed mini paper cups from the bulk store (you can find them at Wal-Mart or grocery stores as well).

I used the directions on the box for the batter, but they don’t have cooking times for mini cupcakes – I started my timer at 9 minutes, which worked perfectly. Always test the centre with a toothpick, if it comes out clean they are ready to come out. Once cooled, I iced the tops two ways. The first was with a knife, the second was with piping. It was at this stage that I let the kids take complete creative control and where the fun really began.

Voila – the Easter Cupcake Masterpieces!

Megan Armstrong is a chef who thinks that good food should be healthy, delicious and fun. She works hard to keep her son (4) and daughter (6) happy and healthy by introducing them to a wide range of food from around the world.