Bird Nest's Cupcakes

This is not your Asian tonic - dried Swallow's saliva :p This is a little cupcake that looks like a bird's nest with eggs. I made these mini cupcakes on Easter Sunday and brought them to church for afternoon tea and also gave some larger cupcakes to a birthday girl.

(recipe adapted from a cupcake recipe book I borrowed from the library)

125g butter at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs
3/4 cup self-raising flour
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3 Tbsp milk

To decorate:
125g mascarpone cheese
50g icing sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
1 Chocolate Cadbury Flake
Sugar-coated chocolate eggs (Buy these mini chocolate eggs from Big W. They should be on sale 1-2 months before Easter)

Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift the cocoa powder and flour (sometimes I don't bother sifting :p) into the mixture and fold them in with the milk.

Spoon mixture into the cupcake moulds lined with paper cases. Bake for about 10 minutes at a preheated oven of 180C or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow them to cool before you decorate.

Put cheese, sugar, cocoa powder in a bowl and beat it until it is smooth and well combined. Spread the frosting onto the cakes. Break the Cadbury Flake into shards resembling twigs and arrange them on top of the frosting to create a bird nest look. Finish off with a couple of chocolate eggs in each nest.

This was how it was supposed to look like in the recipe book :

This is not only suitable for Easter but also appropriate as birthday cupcakes! :)