Easter Nest Cupcakes

This time of year Pinterest is filled with pastel deserts and petit sweets. I’ve seen several variations of cupcakes made to look like birds nests and because I’ll be a guest for Easter dinner this year, I thought I’d give them a test run before Easter Sunday. You can really use any cake recipe you love. Because my trial-run audience had an average age of around 12, I went with a box mix. Below you will find the remaining steps for these beauties.

For the Cream Cheese frosting:

2 8oz packages of Cream Cheese

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, at room temp

2-3 Cups Sifted Powdered Sugar

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

¼ Teaspoon Almond Extract

With your hand held, or stand mixer combine the cream cheese with softened butter. Add the extract and continue mixing until well blended. Slowly begin to add in the powdered sugar until you reach your desired sweetness. If your cupcakes are very sweet, go light on the sugar in the frosting, because you’re going to add sweetened coconut as well.

Toasted Coconut:

One 14oz bag of Sweetened Coconut

Large Dry skillet

I went in 2 batches for this, as not to overcrowd the pan. Spread a thin layer of coconut in bottom of pan and turn to medium heat. As the sugars in the coconut begin to cook, it will turn golden brown. Be sure to stir often and turn the heat down if it browns too quickly. The process in fairly quick, don’t walk away from the stove.

These cute little eggs were from Cadbury. I love the hard candy shell on these eggs. The spots on the shell are so realistic!

Frost the cooled cupcakes, and pile on the coconut. I created a slight well in the middle so that the eggs would sit nicely. This is a very easy dessert with lots of impact!

Enjoy!