Pinata Cupcakes are fun to make any time of year but this quick and easy dessert idea is an especially perfect treat for Easter! Sprinkle filled cupcakes are made from a boxed cake mix with a hidden surprise inside that your kids will love. This Easter cupcake idea is easier than you might think!
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Super easy Easter Cupcakes with a surprise
Pinata Cupcakes are the perfect Easter cupcake idea! Hidden Easter-themed sprinkles are a fun surprise that your kids and family will love!
Just one simple step takes these regular boxed cake mix cupcakes and makes turns them into party cupcakes!
Related: How to Make a Pinata Cake with Hidden Candy
What I love about this cake mix dessert recipe is that it is super simple and won't take tons of time. While I love to serve holiday treats, I do not have the skills for elaborate decorations.
These Easter cupcakes with a surprise inside are an easy dessert to recreate at home! Plus you can change up the sprinkles you use and make these for every other holiday too!
Ingredients
- boxed cake mix (I used yellow)
- eggs
- oil
- water
- frosting
- Easter sprinkles
- Jelly beans, or other Easter candy, for decoration
These surprise inside cupcakes start with boxed cake mix and you can really use any flavor you want. I like to use white or yellow since the sprinkles will show up the best.
Follow the instructions on the box of your cake mix. Mine called for eggs, oil and water.
You can use store-bought frosting or make your own. I like to use my vanilla buttercream. SO easy and crazy delicious!
These are quickly turned into super cute easter cupcakes thanks to cute Easter sprinkles. A few jelly beans on top make them holiday ready without much effort!
See the printable recipe card below for quantities and full recipe.
How to make pinata cupcakes
You won't believe how easy these Easter cupcakes are to make!
Make the cupcakes
Step 1
Add the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs to a large bowl.
You can use a stand mixer instead if you prefer.
Step 2
Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Step 3
Place cupcake liners in the muffin pan (makes 24 cupcakes). Fill each one halfway with the batter.
Tap the pan gently down on the counter. This will help to even out the batter and help the cupcakes bake level.
Step 4
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
They are done when a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let cool completely before doing the next steps.
Fill with sprinkles
Use the wide end of a piping tip to punch out a hole in the center of the cupcake.
Insert it into the cupcake to about halfway down from the top.
Remove the punched-out cupcake piece from the hole (and eat it immediately).
Fill the hole with Easter sprinkles.
Decorate
Using store-bought frosting keeps things so easy. But you can always make your own if you prefer.
Use a star piping tip to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. This will hide the sprinkles hole and keep them from falling out.
To finish the cupcakes, add more Easter sprinkles and place a few jelly beans to the top of each cupcake.
The colorful sprinkles and paper cupcake liners make them perfect for any Easter party.
Variations
- To make these cupcakes even more perfect for a party consider making one of my alcohol-infused cupcakes!
- You can use this same technique with cupcakes made from scratch too if you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to use something other than sprinkles in the cupcakes you can try lots of other things. Some good options are flavored pie filling, nut butters, lemon curd, candies like Nerds or M&Ms, nutella, caramel and jams. Anything moist may turn the cupcake a bit soggy so make sure they aren't sitting too far ahead of time before serving.
While I used a piping tip, you can also try anything else that is round and can punch through the cake. An apple corer may work. Or you can try a melon baller.
Heck no! You can frost the sprinkles-filled cupcakes with a regular old Ziploc bag. Simply spoon frosting into a baggie, seal it shut then snip off the corner of the bag. Squeeze the bag to get the frosting to come out and pipe it onto the cupcakes.
Your friends and family will love these easy Easter pinata cupcakes filled with sprinkles! These are great for beginning bakers and people who aren't confident in their decorating skills (It's me. I'm talking about me.)
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Another Easter dessert with sprinkles
Since you already have Easter sprinkles, you can also make this super easy Easter Cream Cheese Dessert Dip recipe!
More easy cupcake recipes
- Strawberry Jello Cupcakes
- Jello Poke Cupcakes
- Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes
- Cheeto Cupcakes
- Fireball Cupcakes
- Prosecco Cupcakes
- Birthday Sprinkle Cupcakes
Sprinkles Filled Cupcakes for Easter
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- To a large bowl add the dry cake mix, water, oil, and eggs.
- Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Place 24 cupcake liners in a muffin pan, and fill each liner halfway with batter. Tap the pan gently onto the counter to help even out the batter and make the cupcakes level during baking.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. (You can tell they are done when you insert a toothpick in the center of the cupcake and it comes out clean).
- Remove the cupcake from the muffin pan and let cool completely before the next steps.
- Use the wide end of a star frosting tip to punch out a hole in the center of the cupcake. (The hole should go down just about halfway from the top of the cupcake).
- Remove the cupcake piece and set aside.
- Fill the hole in the cupcake with Easter sprinkles.
- Frost each cupcake to hide the hole filled with sprinkles.
- To decorate, sprinkle on more sprinkles and add a few Easter candies.
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