Raspberry Easter Egg Cupcakes

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place cupcake liners in two 12-count cupcake pans. Set aside until needed.

In a food processor, puree the raspberries. Pour the pureed raspberries into a small bowl, and add the milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add half of the flour mixture. Once the flour has fully mixed in, beat in raspberry milk mixture. Then gradually add in the remaining flour and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the pink food coloring, if using.

Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Cream the butter in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt and mix (gradually increasing in speed) until the sugar is fully incorporated, about 5 minutes. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times.

Add the vanilla and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Once the buttercream is creamy and airy, the buttercream is done! To color the buttercream, add the green food coloring to the frosting. Mix until the food coloring has colored all of the frosting and no white is showing.

Place the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a “grass tip”. To frost the cupcakes, hold the piping bag right over the cooled cupcake (no more than ¼ inch away). Lightly apply pressure to release the frosting to create “grass”. Pull away and release pressure from the piping bag. Continue this process until you have covered the entire top surface of the cupcake.

Place 3 Cadbury mini chocolate eggs in the center of each cupcake. Serve and enjoy!

These last up to 5 days in a sealed container.

Raspberry Cupcake recipe adapted from Sprinkles Cupcakes, via Martha Stewart. Cupcake inspiration from Taste and Tell.