These cute Easter cupcakes are an easy box cake mix hack! Perfect for a fun easy Easter dessert with very little effort!
Easter is a time for carrot cake, Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies. It can be a juggle to get Easter baskets filled and with all the holiday cooking.
These adorable Easter bunny cupcakes are perfect for your Easter celebration and are so easy to make. It’s a really simple way to serve a sweet bunny cupcakes for a delicious Easter dessert.
A box cake mix is the center of this simple recipe and Peeps marshmallow bunnies top each of these cute bunny cupcakes. They are sweet and simple with the whimsical spirit of Easter (like our Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes and Easter Rice Krispies Treats).
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Why you’ll love these adorable cupcakes
The recipe delivers easy bunny cupcakes for Easter dinner without a lot of time or complicated fussy steps to make them. They taste great and are really cute (again without hours of decorating).
Recipe Ingredients Notes
White cake mix. You’ll need 1 box of cake mix that makes 24 cupcakes plus any required ingredients for the mix (eggs, oil, etc). If gluten-free, gluten-free cake mix can be hard to find. You can substitute a gluten-free vanilla cake mix just ensure it makes 24 cupcakes.
Strawberry Jell-O mix. You’ll need one 3-ounce package and you’ll use half of it in the mix. The Jell-O mix adds color, flavor and provides a moist consistency to the cupcake.
Berry Blue Jell-O mix. See above. You’ll need a 3-ounce package of this blue Jell-O mix too (and will only use half of it).
Unsalted butter. Be sure to start with softened butter to make the vanilla frosting.
Vanilla extract. To flavor the frosting.
Powdered sugar. Used to make the buttercream frosting.
Pink and Blue food coloring. Gel color makes a more vibrant intense color versus food coloring drops. Either will work.
Peeps marshmallow bunnies. We used pink and blue but you can use any color you like. You’ll need 24, one for the top of each cupcake.
How to make these Easter Bunny Cupcakes – Step-by-Step Tutorial
STEP 1. Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with baking liners.
STEP 2. Make cupcake batter
Prepare the white cake mix according to the package instructions (photo 1). Divide the batter into two bowls.
Add the strawberry Jell-O to one mixing bowl (photo 2) and the berry blue Jell-O to the second mixing bowl (photo 3). Stir to mix until the Jell-O is fully incorporated into the batter.
STEP 3. Bake cupcakes and Cool
Fill each cupcake liner around 2/3 full of the cake batter and bake according to the package instructions (photo 4).
Follow the cake mix instructions to allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a cooling rack.
STEP 4. Make Frosting
Prepare the buttercream frosting by beating together the butter and vanilla until smooth and well combined (photo 5).
Add one cup of powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk and beat until smoot (photo 6).
Add two more cups of powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk and beat.
Then, add the remaining powdered sugar and beat to combined. If the icing is too thick, add more milk as needed.
Separate the icing into two bowls. Add drops of food coloring to each frosting bowl: pink food coloring to one bowl (photo 7) and the blue food coloring to the other bowl (photo 8). Stir until the colors are fully mixed.
STEP 5. Frost and Decorate
Add the frosting to a piping bag with an open star tip and pipe the pink icing on top of the strawberry cupcakes and the blue icing on top of the blue cupcakes (photo 9).
Place a Peep bunny on top of the cupcake (photo 10): pink bunny marshmallow on top of the pink cupcakes (photo 11) and a blue bunny on top of the blue cupcakes (photo 12).
Variations
Make the cupcakes all one color. You could make them either pink OR blue. If so use a full 3 ounce package of the color jell-O you need. You could even make them lemon flavored like these lemon cupcakes.
Use one color or multi color Peeps. You could use a mixture of Peeps colors for the bunny on the top or just one color like the classic yellow Peeps. Peeps marshmallows come in multiple colors.
Use Peeps marshmallow chicks on them. Swap out the bunnies for some chicks on some or all of the cupcakes.
How to Store
Store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. It may be easier to remove the Peeps bunnies (or wait to add them) when storing. Also the marshmallows should not be exposed to moisture.
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Recipe
Easter Bunny Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 box white cake mix plus ingredients to prepare stated on mix (regular or gluten-free cake mix)
- ½ 3-ounce package strawberry Jello
- ½ 3-ounce package berry blue Jello
Frosting and Decorating
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- Pink food coloring
- Blue food coloring
- Pink and blue bunny Peeps marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with baking liners.
- Prepare the white cake mix according to the package instructions.
- Separate the batter into two bowls. Add the 1.5 ounces of strawberry Jell-O to one bowl and the 1.5 ounces berry blue Jell-O to the second bowl. Stir to mix until the Jell-O is fully incorporated into the batter.
- Fill each cupcake liner around 2/3 full of the cupcake batter and bake according to the package instructions.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely, then prepare the frosting by beating together the butter and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
- Add one cup of powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk and beat until smooth.
- Add two more cups of powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk and beat. Then, add the remaining powdered sugar and beat to combined. If the frosting is too thick, add more milk as needed.
- Separate the frosting into two bowls. Add the pink food coloring to one bowl and the blue food coloring to the other bowl. Stir until the colors are fully mixed.
- Pipe the pink icing on top of the strawberry cupcakes and the blue icing on top of the blue cupcakes. Place a pink bunny marshmallow on top of the pink cupcakes and a blue bunny on top of the blue cupcakes.
Notes
- Make the cupcakes all once color. If so use the entire 3-ounce jell-O packet of the same color.
- Swap in more Peeps marshmallow colors.
- Use Peeps chicks in addition or instead of bunnies.
Kristyn says
Love that it’s all one color! Why does adding a peep, make everything look so fun & delicious?! These are the perfect Easter treat!
Eden says
Not only are these adorable but they’re so good!! Love how easy they are to decorate!
Matt says
These are so perfect for Easter! And incredibly easy to make, perfect for the kids!
Kim says
The kids had as much fun making these as they did eating them. Such a fun recipe for families.
Jen h says
Cutest cupcakes ever! And so easy to make! Thank you.
Michelle says
Absolutely adorable for Easter! I love the colors of yours
Beth Sachs says
These Easter cupcakes are super cute! My kids loves having a go at these!
Savita says
These cupcakes look so cute, perfect easter recipe.
Jodi says
I decided to do a test run of the cupcakes and they were both easy and delicious. I love the addition of the jello mix. Will make them again for our Easter brunch. Thank you!
Alison says
These cupcakes are adorable and so easy to make! Thank you!