Delicious and adorable decorated cupcakes, perfect for a festive springtime celebration.

 

Rather than poking up through the soil, icing flowers emerge, petal by petal, from the shiny tip of a pastry bag on this chrysanthemum cupcake. Still, each little bud, smelling of sweet butter, seems as miraculous as one of nature's own.

Toasted coconut and pastel candies are all you need to transform moist buttermilk cupcakes into sweet Easter nests.

Orange zest in the batter and a glaze of fresh orange juice on top give these cupcakes bright citrus flavor. Decorate with buttercream poppies and sprinkle poppy seeds in the center of each for a delightfully realistic finish.

We used a seasonal treat -- tiny wild strawberries -- to top delightful strawberry cupcakes frosted with strawberry meringue buttercream.

These dainty confections are rich, dark brownies iced with a pale purple and topped with sugared pansies and violas to form glittering crowns for these little cakes.

Happy times with kids call for cheerful cupcakes. These cupcakes are easier to serve than cake, require no slicing, no plates, and no forks -- and every child gets her fair share of icing. The perfect end to an Easter celebration.

A much-loved American layer cake is scaled down to cupcake size, and gets an Easter upgrade from a circle of fondant imprinted with a bunny design from a springerle mold.

Around Easter, butterflies take flight. These pretzel-winged specimens -- with bodies of piped blue buttercream -- have candy-coated-chocolate heads and licorice antennae.

To create this tiered display, line a cake stand with green crepe-paper leaves, top with a watering can full of sweets, and mix large and small cupcakes to mimic the variation in a garden.

Delicious and adorable, these nesting baby-bluebird cupcakes are made from coconut, buttercream frosting, cake, and food coloring. 

You don't need to perfect your piping skills to create beautiful flower-topped cupcakes - just scatter a few fresh edible flowers on top. Some of the best-tasting edible flowers include nasturtiums, pansies, hibiscus, snapdragons, and violets.

Clever slicing and colored icing transform these simple cupcakes into whimsical delights. Expect little ones will pluck off the gumdrop heads and licorice antennae and pop them into their mouths.

Hummingbird cake is a Southern favorite: it consists of a batter of pineapple, bananas, pecans, and cinnamon, with a cream-cheese frosting. This cupcake version is topped with an easy-to-make pineapple flower.

Simple cupcakes are transformed into adorable flowers with the help of colored sprinkles and assorted jellied-citrus slices.

These floral cupcakes topped with Swiss meringue-buttercream and a marzipan bee bring a bit of spring to the Easter table.

Use the Easter Bunny's favorite snack -- carrots -- to make these cupcakes that your guests will nibble on with delight.