A cute dessert, especially nice for children in springtime, these butterfly cupcakes are super easy to decorate and can be filled with anything you like.
Photography by Sophie MacKenzie.
Butterfly cupcakes are adorable and easy to decorate with no need for piping tips or decoration expertise. Kids love them, and the ‘wings’ are perfect for dipping into the filling!
Fill with Chantilly cream and lemon curd for the same cupcakes as pictured, but also try strawberry jam, cream cheese frosting, or vegan buttercream.
Please note that we have included step-by-step pictures for how to assemble and decorate the cupcakes, but not how to mix and bake the cake itself. For those images and more info on the base recipe, please reference these vanilla cupcakes. These can also be made with store-bought cake mix.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
Method
Tips and Notes
Assemble immediately before serving, or no more than an hour or two beforehand, to ensure that the cakes don’t become soggy from the fillings. Refrigerate if filling ahead of time.
Mix up the fillings if you want different colours or flavours. Cream and lemon curd are classics but be creative!
While some use a cookie scoop to take out the round on top of the cupcakes, this often compresses the crumb (it’s not sharp enough) and makes for a less pleasant bite. Using a knife ensures that the cake stays nice and light and gives you more control.
Substitutions
These rainbow sprinkle confetti cupcakes would be a really cute option for the base! If you want a more colourful option, try using that recipe.
To make these vegan, use vegan vanilla cake baked into cupcakes, and fill with coconut whipped cream.
More Cakes and Cupcakes
Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
Grinch Cupcakes
Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Greek Yogurt
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe
Butterfly Cupcakes
Description
Ingredients
- 12 vanilla cupcakes
- 1 batch Chantilly cream
- 1 batch lemon curd
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Bake and cool the cupcakes as instructed. Once cooled, use a sharp knife to cut out small cones from the tops of the cakes. Cut ¼ in. (½ cm) from the edge of the cupcake and about 1 in. (2.5 cm) deep.
- Fill the hole with a spoonful of cream or lemon curd, or add a bit of both.
- Cut the cone in half to create the butterfly wings. Place the halves back into the filled cupcake on a slight angle to imitate partially open wings.
- Repeat until all of the cupcakes are filled and decorated.
- Top with a dusting of icing sugar and serve immediately if possible. Any leftovers will have to be refrigerated in a sealed container.
Leave a Reply