Using the free printables for Easter available at The Craft Cafe, I've made decorations, using business cards, that will stick into cupcakes. You can either download the free printables and make your own, or you can download the decoration cards you see here: Easter Cupcake Cards. This opens as a PDF file and you can print it on blank business cards (10 per sheet, Avery template 8371) or just print on plain computer paper and cut to size.

The free printable Easter Coloring Cards are offered as PDF files and if you are unfamiliar with PDF, then visit Jan's FAQs (presented in cooperation with Mom's Break) to find easy-to-understand illustrated tutorials.

As shown in the picture above, you will need to make your favorite white cake recipe (from scratch or boxed mix). I used the Betty Crocker "pudding in the mix" white cake.

You will also need food dye, chocolate frosting, popsicle sticks, and the decoration cards. I found these Easter cupcake papers at my local dollar store.

After you make the cake batter, separate the batter into four bowls. Color each bowl with a different food dye color. Add food dye until you get the color you desire.

Begin to fill the cupcake papers. Put in a spoonful of each color, as you see here. It is OK if the colors seem to "drift" into the other colors.

Using a butter knife, run the knife through the colors to partially swirl them. Don't over-swirl, or you'll end up with a brownish looking color!

Bake the cupcakes at the temperature called for by the cake recipe. Cupcakes usually don't take as long to bake as a whole cake, so you'll want to check for doneness after about 15 minutes. After that, check at 3-5 minute intervals and take the cupcakes out of the oven as soon as your cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.

It is very easy to overbake cupcakes. I recommend that you rotate the cupcake pans at least once during baking to ensure even baking. No oven really bakes evenly, so move the pans from top to bottom and turn from front to back.

As you can see here, when you "bite" into a cupcake (closest to the glue stick), you will see a kaleidoscope of colors!

After the cupcakes have cooled, frost with chocolate frosting.

Assemble the decoration cards:

• Place one card face down
• Run the glue stick over the entire back of the card
• Lay a popsicle stick on the face-down card, and press into the glue
• Place a second card, face up, on top and press down for a few seconds

Insert the popsicle stick with the decoration card into the middle of the frosted cupcake!

I made this cute little Easter basket using a small plastic tulip-shaped bucket I found at my local dollar store (4 for $1). I filled it with different colors of Easter grass, put in a few candies, and added one Easter Egg Cupcake.

This makes a nice party favor or gifts that you can take to co-workers, neighbors, or shut-ins.

This concludes the tutorial for Easter Egg Cupcakes.

Here's another idea for using cupcakes as Easter treats! Color shredded coconut and sprinkle onto frosted cupcakes to make a colorful addition to any Easter basket!

For further instructions, go to:

Chocolate Easter Cupcakes

For an illustrated tutorial, go to:

Easter Table Decoration

Jan's Reading Room Easter Index

                           Jan's Reading Room

                           Jan's Dough

Jan's Free Content

Jan's Tutorials, also available on Jan's Tips, are easy-to-read-and-understand tutorials for using MS Word and MS Paint, as well as using other computer-based features and programs to create cards, gift tags, and labels.