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Hi Bold Bakers!
Spring must be the cutest season when it comes to baking! My point is there are many great things happening in Spring that you can replicate in a dessert and/or baked good. Case and point would be my adorable Baby Chick Vanilla Cupcakes! I don’t think there are cuter Easter cupcakes out there.
I took my Best Ever Vanilla Cake recipe and modified it into a small batch of cupcakes that yields 4 Big & Bold cupcakes. My cupcake recipes are the perfect size to fit in a toaster oven however they can also be made in a regular oven too. The timing and temperature for your toaster oven will be the same as your regular oven.
Don’t underestimate the power of a toaster oven! They are fantastic pieces of kitchen equipment and are great for baking. Often they are used in shared living spaces, dorms, or by people with limited kitchens but I think they are great for everyone.
Did you see my other Small Batch Cupcakes for Spring recipes? Check out my Carrot Cake Cupcake, Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes, and the written recipe for these Baby Chick Vanilla Easter Cupcakes further below.
You might look at this cupcakes and say, “I can’t decorate like that!”. But you can, and I’ll show you how easy it is!
I know this because I’m not the best cake decorator. But I’ll share with you some easy ways to make desserts look impressive so don’t be afraid to try it.
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Baby Chick Vanilla Cupcakes (Small Batch Cupcakes for Spring)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (4oz/115g) buttermilk*
- 4 tablespoons (2oz/60g) butter
- 2/3 cups (3 ⅓ oz/100g) a.p flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- Butter Cream Frosting
- ½ cup (115g/4oz) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cups (115g/4oz) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- Yellow food dye
- Orange food dye
- Black food dye
- White chocolate
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, butter and vanilla extract together until combined.
- In the wet ingredients add in the rest of the ingredients.
- Slowly mix the dry into the wet ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick. Do not overmix as it can toughen your cupcakes.
- Pour the batter into 4 cupcake liners almost to the top.
- Bake at 350of (180oC) for 15-17 minutes, or until they are firm in the middle and don’t appear damp. This recipe bakes fast.
- Once baked, take them out of the tin and cool on a baking rack until cold.
- To make the frosting: beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the sugar while the mixer is still running. Increase to high speed and continue beating until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Add in the milk and vanilla and whip in.
- Color the buttercream with yellow food coloring until you have reached your desired color.
- Store in the fridge if not using straight away.
- Make the feet, nose and eyes: Melt some white chocolate. Divide it between 2 bowls and color them orange and black. Scoop into a piping bag and cut a tiny hole
- Pipe the nose, eyes and feet on a piece of parchment paper and place in the fridge to set
- To Decorate: Fit a piping bag with a large round nozzle and fill with your yellow buttercream frosting
- Point the piping bag straight down and pipe a big dollop of buttercream for the chicks body
- On top of that, pipe a small dollop for the chicks head (dollop is the only word I think best describes it)
- Carefully place on the feet, eyes and nose.
- Once decorated store the cupcakes in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let them reach room temperature before eating.
Recipe Notes
If you don’t have a small cupcake tray use silicone cupcake liners
Eggs: Replace the egg with the same amount of apple sauce/puree or banana
What do you mean by 2 Tablespoons of egg?
What is a.p flour? Is it same as cake flour or not?
Hey. I have made the vanilla cupcake using your recipe and also mixed some cherry filling with it. & substituted butter with sunflower oil since I was out of butter. & it came out perfectly 😬😬. I really feel great following your recipes because it never goes wrong 🖤
hey, i wanted ro try this out but at what temprature does the butter have to be and how do i mix it in with the other wet ingredients? im just a little confused on how to work with the butter in this.
Hi Gemma I tried this recipe today, but instead of making cupcakes I put the batter in a mini cake pan and it turned out amazing! I live in Mexico City and we don’t have buttermilk but an alternative I have found that works is to substitute with plain yoghurt, and it really works!!! Thanks for all your great recipes and congrats on your beautiful baby!!!
I just put in oven….not expecting good results. I think the problem with recipe is that it does not say to cream butter and sugars together first.
Hi Gemma!
Happy Easter and thank you for the delicious vanilla cake and buttercream frosting recipes. I made the 4 baby chick cupcakes and they were a huge hit! Not as perfect as yours but totally sincere. I was proud. 😀 I posted a picture. My son and granddaughter have the same birthday..turned 36 and 5. They LOVED!! I’ve also made the big layered cake version. It’s the best cake and frosting ever..hands down..and you’re as cute as a bug. Thanks angel. I’m so grateful you’re Gemma. xxx ~BiBi
Hello how many eggs would I need to make a batch of 24 cupcakes please?
Hi.. I tried this recipe today… I followed all the measurements exactly as u mentioned… But cupcakes were gummy.. But when I checked with toothpick it came out clean…is there any specific reason for gummy cupcakes?
Hi Gemma I tried this recipe out today. I was really looking forward to the cupcakes because I love your videos, but the cupcakes failed. Could I ask for your advice as to what went wrong? The batter turned out to be a very runny consistency. The cupcakes were very wet and gummy. I baked them for at least 25 minutes but they just became harder on the outside but still wet and gummy on the inside. a) I used a convection oven, preheated to 180 degrees. Does it matter that my oven had no overhead heating element, like the… Read more »