"Three Little Birds" Cupcakes...

I've been meaning to make some "eggs in nest" Easter cupcakes for the last couple of years, but not got around to it.  The beginning of Spring is a busy time in my household - four family birthdays within a month as well as Easter - in other words, a very busy season of baking.

I've called these my "three little birds" cupcakes for a special reason (bear with me as I get a bit sentimental). Three weeks ago, we welcomed our third child into the world, our daughter Moxie.  During labour with her I couldn't stop singing Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds", and it made me feel so calm and I had a very peaceful delivery.  And of course, now I have three little birds of my own. :)

So here's how I made them...

You need:

6 Cupcakes (whatever flavour you like - I used chocolate)
Buttercream frosting (about 1 cup)
Green food colouring
Piping bag
Wilton leaf tip (I used a #67)
50g fondant tinted in white, yellow and pink (or ready-made flower decorations)

For the nests:
1 & 1/2 cups cornflakes
200g chocolate
18 small eggs (I used speckled marzipan eggs but you could use whatever eggs you like)

To make the nests:

Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over a medium/low heat.  When it's melted, add the cornflakes.  Mix well - don't worry about breaking up the cornflakes a bit - the nests will be easier to make if the cornflakes are slightly broken up.

Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases in a muffin tin and with the back of a teaspoon, drag the mixture up the sides of the cases to form a nest.  Refrigerate until needed.

Decorating the cupcakes:

Divide the buttercream between two bowls and mix up two different shades of green (you may just want to use one shade of green which is fine).  Attach your leaf tip.  Pipe leaves in the first green shade all around the top of the cupcake.

Fill in the spaces with the darker green.

Place nests on top and fill with the eggs.

Cut some daisy shapes from fondant and place around the base of the nest as desired.

Tip:  If transporting these cupcakes, it's best to leave the nests off the top and assemble them at your destination (so I discovered today!)