Gluten Free Easter Cupcakes 

Directions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).  
2. Line 2 muffin pans with baking cups (18 spaces required).
3. Place 2 - 3 hard candy coated chocolate eggs in base of each cupcake liner.
4. In a medium bowl combine eggs, oil and water. Mix with a whisk until combined.
5. Add Kinnikinnick White Cake Mix and whisk until combined.
6. Pour batter over hard candy coated chocolate eggs (18 portions).
7. If candy eggs rise to top of batter, use a fork to press candy eggs down to base of batter.
8.  Bake in preheated oven for 22 minutes.
9. Remove cupcakes from pan to continue cooling. 

Buttercream Icing 

1. In a medium bowl, mix softened butter until smooth.
2. Slowly add sifted icing sugar 1 cup at a time alternating with milk. Mix until smooth and incorporated.
3. Colour icing for desired design (listed below). 
   

Easter Baskets 

1. Two different colours of Buttercream Icing required. We used yellow and pink. 
2. Easter Basket Handle - Pipe a half circle with melted chocolate on parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set hard. 
3. Pipe a swirl of Buttercream Icing (yellow) in the middle of individual Easter Basket Cupcake.
4. Place 3 candy coated chocolate eggs in centre. 
5. Carefully remove Easter Basket Handles from parchment paper and press slightly into Buttercream Icing.
6. Using a star tip and Buttercream Icing (pink), pipe a shell border around the edge of cupcake to resemble a basket. 
   
   Yields 18 cupcakes

Birds Nest 

1. Green Buttercream Icing is required for this design.
2. Place green Buttercream Icing in a piping bag with a grass tip #233. Set aside. Do not refrigerate.
3. Cover the top of the Easter Cupcake with Buttercream Icing grass (pulling the tip straight up when piping with grass tip). 
4. On a piece of parchment, pipe chocolate in thin lines in a criss-cross design. Let chocolate set up hard in the refrigerator for 1 hour. 
5. Carefully lift set chocolate off of parchment paper and place in centre of Easter Cupcake to resemble a birds nest (if chocolate pieces break, place in a circular design to create a nest).
6. Place 3 candy coated chocolate eggs in centre of birds nest.
   Yields 18 cupcakes

Chicks 

1. Three different colours of Buttercream Icing required. We coloured about ¼ cup orange, ⅓ of remaining icing yellow and the balance green.
2. Place green Buttercream Icing in a piping bag and cut a "V" shape for the tip. Pipe small straight lines to create small leaves (apply more pressure at the beginning to create the wider part of the leaf and less pressure at the end to create the tip of the leaf). 
3. Cover the top of the Easter Cupcake with Buttercream Icing grass (pulling the tip straight up when piping with grass tip). 
4.  Place yellow Buttercream Icing in a piping bag with a large round tip. 
5. Pipe a mound of yellow Buttercream Icing in the centre of the leaves. In a continual motion. pipe a second smaller mound on top and finish by pulling the icing upwards to create a swirl/peak at the top of the chicks head.
6. Place orange Buttercream Icing in a piping bag and cut a "V" shape for the tip. On the top mound of yellow Buttercream icing, pipe a peak pulling the icing bag straight out when you pipe. Use the same orange Buttercream Icing to pipe the feet of the chick at base of yellow mound. 
7. Use melted chocolate in a piping bag to pipe eyes for chick.
   

Yields 18 Cupcakes