Pre-heat your oven to 140C Fan/325F/Gas Mark 3, and line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases
For the cupcake sponge, mix together the butter and caster sugar, ideally using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, for 5 minutes until smooth and fluffy
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk them in well
Then gently whisk, or fold in, the self raising flour
Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases, and bake them for 25-30 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted in the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean. Put them on a rack to cool completely
For the buttercream, mix the softened butter on it's own for a few minutes. Then add icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk. You can do this by hand, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer with paddle attachment will provide the best results. If the buttercream is too stiff, you can add a little more milk. You do want it to be on the looser side to make it easier to pipe with the grass nozzle
Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake using a piping bag fitted with a grass nozzle (Wilton 233) to make a nest (watch the video to see how it's done!). Then add three different coloured mini eggs in the centre
Store in an airtight container in a cool place, eat leftovers within 3 days
Video
Notes
Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used a baking spread for the cupcakes and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
If you can't get hold of the grass piping nozzle (a Wilton 233) you can use a small open star nozzle to achieve a similar effect.
You can use any colour cupcake cases - I just loved matching the pastel shades to the colours of the Mini Eggs!
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.