Making Easter cupcakes is always fun but none are more well-loved than Chocolate Bird’s Nest Cupcakes. Part recipe, part craft project, these chocolate coated pretzel nests filled with candy are a delight for all! Gluten-free and gluten instructions.
Last year before Easter I stumbled upon these perfect blue eggs. Hard coated chocolate with caramel in the middle; but I did not even care about that part.
I’d never seen a confection in this hue. A gorgeous matte, mottled deep sky blue. I had to have them and bought them for family Easter baskets.
I’ve not forgotten those eggs and in the back of my mind have been plotting for the last year about folding them into a recipe in a way that lets their unique beauty shine.
As the season turns toward spring the idea of an edible nest came to mind but I wanted to perch it on Easter cupcakes. I began to mentally engineer a method to create a nest, which had to be gluten-free, and then to experiment in the kitchen.
It was about this time that I realized I had no idea where I’d found the eggs last year. I knew they were a more boutique product that I had not found them in a mainstream store.
Then as luck (or serendipity) will have it I had an errand in a local independent pharmacy where packaging of another Easter themed treat sparked my memory.
With a bit of poking around I found them again. Of course any eggs will do but I was smitten with these in particular!
Chocolate Bird’s Nest Cupcakes with Candy Eggs: perfect Easter Cupcakes
I loved the end result of these Chocolate Bird’s Nest Cupcakes. Because they needed to be gluten free I used gluten free pretzel sticks (Link Removed) from Glutino, which I coated in melted chocolate and assembled into the nests (instructions in the recipe). If you can eat gluten, If you are able to eat gluten, chow mien noodles would be great too due to their winding shapes.
I also wanted a color variation so used two types of chocolate to dip the pretzels and then assembled the nests. The nests making process is more simple if only using one type of chocolate however.
The combination of the orange-flavored cupcake, the chocolate-covered pretzel nest adding some crunchy texture and the candy eggs made this nothing less than whimsically perfect!
Tips for Making Chocolate Bird’s Nest Cupcakes
Making the chocolate nests is a bit of a labor intensive process but the result is worth it. There are some chilling stages when assembling the nest itself and it can be done over a few days if you choose.
Once the easter cupcakes are assembled, the cupcakes (those which weren’t gobbled up) stay in perfect form when refrigerated and protected (though the cupcake itself may become dry if stored too long).
Chocolate Bird’s Nest Easter Cupcakes Notes:
- Dark chocolate is ‘sturdier’ than milk chocolate: meaning it takes longer to melt but also does not melt as readily when you are handling the coated pretzels.
- The process is messy when dipping and assembling the nest. If when handling the coated pretzels the chocolate begins to melt, don’t fret! Any exposed areas will be painted with chocolate to cover them up.
- Chopping a chocolate bar for melting and dipping the pretzels works better than chocolate chips.
- I used a gluten-free vanilla-flavored cupcake (cake) mix and flavored them withorange extract. I wanted a spring flavor combination and love orange and chocolate together. Any flavor cupcake and/or frosting may be used.
SUPPLIES FOR MAKING CHOCOLATE BIRD’S NEST EASTER CUPCAKES:
Wax paper, slotted spoon, baking sheets, small craft paint brushes(unused; one for each type or color of chocolate used), candy eggs
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Carolyn says
My kids ADORE the GF pretzels from Glutino. Yummykins.
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Caroline Taylor says
These are AMAZING Toni! I love how you made them and the bright blue eggs and the orange and chocolate together. Brilliant little cakes! Shame I’m not a US resident!
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PS: love the infused cocktail recipes, bring on summer and gin and tonic.