Easter is widely characterized as the holiest day of the year on the Christian calendar. Faith features prominently in modern Easter celebrations, which also include some secular traditions, particularly in families with young children. The Easter bunny and Easter egg hunts are not necessarily the focal point of Easter for adult Christians, but children greatly enjoy these traditions.

It’s customary to give young children a basket of treats on Easter Sunday. Though store-bought treats are easy to come by, homemade items can be even more special. This recipe for Easter-themed Vanilla Cupcakes from Lines+Angles, is sure to get a laugh out of youngsters, who also won’t mind taking a bite or two of these tasty treats.

Easter-Themed Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

• 4 ounces butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 11/4 cup flour
• teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• teaspoon vanilla extract

For the grass:

• 41/2 ounces unsalted butter
• 11/3 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Green food coloring

To decorate:

• 11 ounces white sugar paste/fondant
• 4 ounces pink sugar paste/fondant
• Icing sugar
• Mini sugar eggs

1. For the cupcakes: Heat the oven to 375 F. Place paper cupcake liners in a 12-serving muffin tin.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Gradually beat in the eggs, beating until fully incorporated into the mixture.
4. Sift in the dry ingredients and gently stir into the mixture. Stir in the milk and vanilla until blended.
5. Spoon the mixture into the paper liners. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
6. For the grass: Beat the butter until soft. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and milk until blended. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of buttercream and set aside.
7. Beat the food coloring into the larger amount of buttercream.
8. Spoon into a piping bag with a grass nozzle. Pipe on top of the cupcakes, starting at the outside edge and working in circles. pulling up and away when a buttercream strand is long enough.
9. For the Bunnies: Roll pieces of white sugar paste into 12 medium balls for the bodies and 24 small thick rectangles for the paws. Reserve some white sugar paste.
10. Brush the paws lightly with a little water and attach to the bodies (see photo).
11. Roll 12 small balls and 72 tiny balls of pink sugar paste. Cut the larger balls in half and press into oval shapes. Brush lightly with water and attach to the paws. Attach 3 tiny balls to each paw with a little water.
12. Put the reserved buttercream into a piping bag with a grass nozzle and pipe a “tail” on each bunny.
13. Arrange the sugar eggs on the cupcakes.
14. Roll out the sugar paste trimmings separately on a surface dusted with icing sugar and cut out flowers (as in the photo) and place on the cupcakes.