Before talking about Easter Cupcakes, I want to give you a heads up: Baking with kids can be very stressful, especially if you’re a perfectionist. Take it from me: don’t proceed until you’re ready for the mess, the frustration, the unexpected results, and the stress.
The idea of baking with kids and getting them more involved in the kitchen is terrific, but no one had warned me about the mental load of managing them during the baking process. On my first try with my four-year-old, I was overoptimistic, with the most perfect picture: I guide my kid through every step along the way — We follow instructions step by step — She is excited and happy — I’m happy seeing her happy — We achieve baking together.
Okay, the picture I painted has never come true.
When baking with my kids, I get worries that something will go wrong: we get distracted and miscount the measurement, someone touches the scale and accidentally reset it in the middle of the measurement, someone spills flour everywhere, someone drops the egg, someone complaints about not having a turn, someone is sad for making a mistake.
So many things can go wrong, and so many big emotions.
Additionally, the children have their own ideas on how they want to decorate their cupcakes, and we, as parents, must be willing to let our ambitions take a backseat. The final products don’t usually turn out as I imagine them, but when I let the children lead, they feel a sense of accomplishment and happiness. And I am less stressed.
I’ve learnt to embrace the mess and accept the unexpected outcomes. I’ve learnt to come to terms with the fact that baking with kids is about the fun of doing something together, about spending quality time together, and eventually, the kids will learn something during the process, not so much about how the cupcakes will turn out.
With that in mind, let’s bake using our family’s favorite recipes: simple, ingredients are relatively easy to find, and tasty.
Cupcake recipes
We have two favorites. They are not only tasty, but also simple ingredients. I almost always have all of them in my pantry. As a family with multiple children, it’s important that we can be spontaneous with baking and not be disappointed by not having an ingredient on hand.
Vanilla cupcake recipe
This vanilla cupcake recipe from the King Arthur Baking Company is my son’s favorite. Here is the ingredient list:
- Sugar
- All-purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Vanilla Extract
- Milk
- Eggs
Sourdough chocolate cupcake recipe
If you have sourdough discard that needs to be used up and you love chocolate, this recipe from the King Arthur Baking Company is the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe. The cupcakes are fluffy, moist, and tasty. The ingredients are simple:
- Sourdough starter
- Milk
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Cocoa powder
- Eggs
Frosting Recipe
This strawberry frosting works best for our family on this occasion, and it’s also suitable for any other occasion. It’s easy for my nine-year-old to work with, and she can make the frosting on her own with minimal supervision. The strawberries naturally turn the frosting pink, her favorite color. And from my experience, this is the least greasy frosting I’ve found, which makes cleaning a lot easier. Win-win.
Here is the ingredient list:
- Sliced fresh strawberries
- Unsalted butter
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Meringue powder, optional
- Food coloring, if you want to dye the frosting other than pink
- Strawberry flavor, optional, and we’ve never used it, and everyone loves the frosting
Piping is my oldest child’s favorite part of making Easter cupcakes, and my middle child has also started showing interest in doing it.
Even if your kids aren’t ready for baking or frosting, I’m sure they would love to decorate the cupcakes. Easter chocolate eggs, bunny candy, and sprinkles are our favorites for Easter cupcake decoration because they are easy to find, and it doesn’t take much effort to make the cupcake cute using them.
Easter Cupcake Gallery, led by my young children
Here are some decoration ideas for the Easter cupcakes. Kid-friendly, easy to achieve, and doesn’t require lots of skills.
Remember, they don’t have to look professional, as long as they are presentable and your children are happy with the results.
Good luck with baking with your children!
I hope these recipes come in handy for you, just like they do for me when you and/or your children want to bake some cupcakes, either for a last-minute gathering or just an activity to do together.
And remember, baking with young children can be stressful unless you let go of certain expectations.
Happy baking!