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I love a gluten free cupcake recipe and these gluten free Mini Egg cupcakes take it to a whole new level! Cute little vanilla cupcakes with a swirly, rainbow icing topped with crushed Mini Eggs. What more could you want?
After making my gluten free vanilla cupcakes, I got a lot of requests from friends and family to bake them again. I wanted to see if I could take them up a notch so there was only one thing for it: Mini Eggs.
Mini Eggs are gluten free and honestly one of my favourite treats at Easter! I normally make my gluten free Mini Egg blondies but thought the chocolate crunch would work so well with the smooth buttercream frosting.
And let me tell you, it worked like an absolute dream! Because the cupcakes are vanilla-flavoured they’re not too overpowering and chocolatey. It means you get just the right amount of sweetness without being sickly.
The perfect Easter baking recipe
If you’re looking for a gluten free bake to make with kids over the Easter holidays, these gluten free Mini Egg cupcakes are perfect.
Kids will love mixing up the cakes and even more so the rainbow icing! It’s such a great chance for them to get creative and yet the icing is so easy to do.
To make things even easier, I’ve taken some photos of each stage to show you how to achieve the perfect, multi-coloured buttercream swirl…
Step-by-step guide to icing your cupcakes
The best part of my gluten free Mini Egg cupcakes? It has to be the super swirly rainbow buttercream frosting! I have to give credit to one of my favourite bloggers, Jane’s Patisserie, who has made a non-gluten-free version of these which inspired my own swirly frosting. Definitely check out her site as it’s epic!
While it looks difficult, this piping effect is actually really simple to do. If I, an absolute icing novice, can do this – then you can too!
All you’ll need to achieve this icing effect is three different food colourings – I went for pink, purple and yellow to match the Mini Egg theme.
Step one: Pick your colours
I always use the Wilton gel food colouring as it lasts forever and you only need the tiniest bit to get a great colour. Once you’ve made the frosting, divide it into three bowls and mix in the colouring.
Step two: Add them to your piping bag
Once you’ve mixed the colours in, you need to add them a spoonful at a time to your piping bag (with a star nozzle fitted). You don’t have to be too neat about this as you want to create a random swirl on each cupcake.
Step three: Pipe away!
Squeeze the icing down to the bottom of the bag to get rid of any air bubbles, and then pipe away! Pipe your icing into swirls on each cupcake before topping with crushed Mini Eggs.
My gluten free Mini Egg cupcakes recipe
So here it is, the recipe for my gluten free Mini Egg cupcakes! This recipe makes 12 dreamy little cupcakes, with plenty of Mini Eggs left over to munch on while you bake.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes! And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.
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Gluten free Mini Egg cupcakes
These gluten free Mini Egg cupcakes are SO pretty with their swirly rainbow buttercream frosting, topping with crunchy Mini Eggs. Perfect for coeliac-friendly parties or birthdays.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter, (softened)
- 2 large eggs
- 125 g self raising gluten free flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
For the buttercream frosting:
- 175 g unsalted butter, (at room temperature)
- 350 g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pink, purple and yellow food colouring
- Small bag of Mini Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180'C (170'C fan) / Gas 4. Fill a 12-hole baking tin with cupcake cases and set aside while you make the cake batter.
- Add the butter, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. (TIP: If the butter is hard, zap it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before adding it to the mixing bowl to make it easier!)
- Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl and beat again for 30 seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.
- Sift in the self-raising gluten free flour and xantham gum, add the milk, and then beat together with the electric whisk until everything is fully combined. You want a fairly thick batter which looks light and fluffy.
- Spoon the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases and then place in the centre of an oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. The cupcakes are done when they are well-risen, golden on top, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool in the tray for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the tray to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Add the butter, icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk on a low speed until it becomes a smooth, pale buttercream. (TIP: To avoid an icing-sugar dust cloud I tend to 'mash' the mixture with a fork until it starts to come together, then use the electric whisk).
- Once mixed, separate into three bowls. Add the pink, purple and yellow food colouring (one per bowl) as per the instructions and beat again until the colour is well-mixed in.
- Alternating between colours, add the buttercream in spoonfuls to a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.. Once full, squeeze down to the nozzle and then swirl onto the cupcakes. Top with a mixture of crushed and whole Mini Eggs before serving.
Notes
- For the frosting, it's important to use room temperature butter to get the right consistency. If it becomes very soft once beaten (especially likely on a hot day) then place the buttercream in the piping bag and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes until it's an easy consistency to pipe.
- These cupcakes will keep for around 3 days in an air-tight container. You can also freeze the cakes BEFORE frosting and defrost and decorate as desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 cupcakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 400Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 19mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 0gSugar: 40gProtein: 3g
Need some more gluten free Easter baking inspiration?
If you want to have a go at some of the other gluten free cake recipes on the blog, why not give some of these a try? They’re perfect to satisfy any cake cravings!
If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram. And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!
Oh – and don’t forget to sign up for my e-newsletter where you’ll know about all my latest posts and competitions first!
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