Easter Egg Cupcakes

5 from 1 vote

Lemon infused yellow cake topped with the most dream Swiss meringue buttercream frosting and a candy nest.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Total Time 53

Servings cupcakes

Calories 173kcal

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
5 large egg whites
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract use clear vanilla flavoring if you want it pure white, otherwise it will be beige

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 20 muffin pan cups with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Prepare cake batter according to package. Stir in lemon oil. Spoon into prepared pans. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile prepare your frosting. In the bowl of a standing mixer, thoroughly whisk together sugar and egg whites.
Set the bowl over a pot of boiling water. Whisking constantly, heat the mixture for 1.5 minutes. Don't ever stop whisking or you will have scrambled eggs. Remove from heat.
Place bowl back in the mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until mixture forms a stiff meringue and the bowl comes to room temperature, 10-20 minutes.
Stop the mixer and replace the whisk attachment with the paddle attachment.
Set mixer to low and add the butter. When all of the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer to medium and beat until fluffy. Turn mixer down to low and add vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Buttercream troubleshooting: If the buttercream is soupy or too liquidy after combining the butter and vanilla, don't worry. It just needs to be chilled for a bit. Try putting it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour. Then beat it on high again until fluffy and glossy. It should have a slight sheen to it. It's beautiful frosting!
Buttercream storage tips: Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature or 10 days in the refrigerator.

Fill the cupcakes with a little bit of lemon curd. You can do this by punching a small hole in the top of the cupcake with the bottom of a pastry tip (such as a 1M). Scoop in a generous teaspoon full of lemon curd, then replace the cupcake top. Then scoop buttercream into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1M pastry tip. Pipe buttercream onto cupcakes. Add green coconut (simply add green food coloring to coconut flakes and stir). Top with jellybeans. Serve immediately or store covered for up to 2 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. (Note: You can color your coconut green by adding a few drops of green food coloring, then stir until completely combined.)