Easy Cupcakes

These bird nest cupcakes are made with crispy Chinese noodles and hold three sweet Robins Eggs (Whopper chocolates). They’re great for Easter or any springtime party, and easy for kids to make.

What You Need: cupcake; pink frosting; crunchy chow mein noodles (in the Asian foods aisle or bulk foods bins); Robin Egg chocolate or similar candy.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange crispy noodles to form a nest. Place three eggs in varying colors and speckles inside the nest.

A fuzzy-looking chick cupcake is great for Easter or barnyard parties. This design is very similar to one that ran in Family Fun magazine.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or yellow frosting; shaved coconut; yellow dye (liquid, gel or paste); gummy orange slice; chocolate chips; scissors or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Tint coconut in a bowl or baggie by adding dye and mixing. Sprinkle on top of cupcake. Use scissors to cut off bit of orange slice and make beak shape. Place on cupcake. Add chocolate chip eyes.

This big-eyed owl cupcakes are a hoot (sorry!) on Halloween or anytime.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; 2 white fruit gels; 2 brown or black M&Ms; 1 banana candy (such as Runts).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange gels side-by-side. Use dab of icing to attach one M&M to each gel. Stick banana nose in center.

Three bluebirds await their mama bird in a nest on this cupcake, which features toasted coconut.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted green; toasted coconut; 3 pastel blue M&Ms; food-safe markers.

How to Make It: Toast coconut for 5-10 minutes in 350-degree oven. Let cool. Frost cupcake green. Sprinkle center with coconut for nest. Use food-safe markers to draw eyes and beak on each M&M. Arrange birds in nest.

No, not cupcakes made with chicken. A cupcake of a chicken. Enjoy them at a farm-themed party or anytime.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 2 red Swedish fish; 2 black (or brown, or blue) M&Ms; candied orange slice; kitchen shears or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut tails and heads off Swedish fish (it won’t hurt them). Stick head into frosting at center top of head and put the tails, which are smaller, on either side. Cut triangle shape from orange candy for beak and place near center of cupcake. Place M&Ms, upside down, directly above beak.

Add some texture to your baby chick cupcakes this Easter with shredded coconut! These cupcakes would also be fun at a party with a farm theme.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted yellow; shredded coconut; yellow dye (liquid or paste); orange candy fruit wedge; 2 brown, black or blue M&Ms; 3 red jellybeans; scissors or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Put coconut in a bowl, add yellow dye and mix well. Sprinkle on cupcake for feathers. Arrange 3 red jellybeans at top of head. Cut triangle shape from candy fruit and place on top as beak. Add M&M eyes.

Planning a rubber duck themed baby shower? Place candy ducks in the center of a frosted cupcake and surround the cupcake with stars, made simple with icing in a tube or aerosol can.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; candy rubber ducks (I get mine from Kake Kreations in Canoga Park, California, which also offers mail order); orange icing in a tube or aerosol can; star tip. I also used ducky cupcake liners from Wilton.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use tubed icing and star tip to pipe stars all around the cupcake. Place cupcake in center. Of course, you can make baby shower cupcakes in any color or to match other candy designs.