For these cupcakes I used a cake mix and doctored it up a bit. That’s my favorite way to do cakes or cupcakes. It’s simple, but the cake still tastes rich and dense. I use a cake mix that already has pudding mix in it and then add an additional pudding mix. The double pudding makes for some super dense and fudgy cupcakes. I also add in some sour cream and Greek yogurt to the mix which adds to the density of the cake. A couple extra eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and some buttermilk and the cake is ready to go into the oven. A lot of the times I’ll use a substitute for buttermilk. I hate buying a whole container to just throw it away if it goes bad and I don’t use it all. All you do is get a scant cup of milk (I like to use 2% because of the creaminess) and add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. I prefer vinegar, but both will work. Stir together and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes before adding to the mixture.
Once these cupcakes are baked and cooled, it’s time to decorate! I frosted each cupcake with dyed cream cheese frosting. You can make your own frosting, but I wanted to keep these simple so I just used it from a store-bought tub. Slather on the frosting and then immediately top with 1-2 tablespoons of dyed coconut. Dying coconut is super simple – just stir around the coconut with a few drops of food dye until the color you desire is reached. Sometimes I will knead the coconut and dye with my hand if I want it to really pick up the color. But, be warned, your hand will be dyed too! Finally, arrange the “flowers” by frosting the bottom of peanut M&M’s (or another similar candy) and pressing them in a flower form on to the cupcake. And there you go – super simple, last minute cupcakes for Easter, or Mother’s Day! Enjoy 🙂
