Chocolate butterfly cakes
Chocolate butterfly cakes are a delicious chocolatey twist on the classic children’s bake. Kids (and grown ups) will love this easy bake.
Chocolate butterfly cakes are the perfect easy bake for kids. A simple twist on a regular chocolate cupcake – kids will love making and eating these.
Our regular butterfly cakes are always a popular bake on our site, so it was about time we made a chocolate version as well. They’re just as easy to make as our regular version, but perfect for any chocolate lovers in your family.
How can kids help make chocolate butterfly cakes?
We’ve used our easy chocolate cupcake recipe as the base for these butterfly cupcakes, so they’re really easy for kids to make.
It’s a simple case of weighing everything out and giving it all a good mix. This ‘all in one’ method is the perfect easy way or getting kids involved baking in the kitchen and means there’s only one bowl to wash up.
If you want to make life really easy, you can also make a start to the cupcakes yourself and just get your kids to help you decorate them and turn them into butterflies for you. This is a good option if you have very young children with a short attention span.
Can you use shop bought cupcakes?
Yes. The great thing about these chocolate butterfly cupcakes is that you can use your favourite cupcake recipe whether that is from a cake packet mix or even plain shop bought ones.
The fun starts when you’ve baked the cupcake, so you can even make these in advance then get your kids just to help you decorate them.
How long do chocolate butterfly cakes keep?
Once you’ve made and decorated them, they’ll keep for a few days in an air tight container. If you want to keep them for longer or make them ahead of time, you can freeze them for up to 2-3 months.
Can you use a chocolate buttercream icing?
Yes. We used a vanilla buttercream, but you could swap it for a chocolate buttercream instead if you prefer. For a chocolate buttercream follow the same directions as below but add the following instead
What can I use instead of self raising flour?
If you don’t have self raising flour, swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and put in an extra teaspoon of baking powder.
What is baking spread?
Baking spread, like Stork, is just a non dairy margarine that’s perfect for baking. It can make sponges lighter and fluffier than if you use butter, which means it’s a great, cheaper alternative.
I still like the taste of butter in buttercream icing so I wouldn’t swap the butter for baking spread in that but it’s great for the sponge.
150g (2/3 cup) butter
300g (2 cups) icing sugar
30g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
3 tablespoons milk
How do you make the butterflies?
It’s really very simple. Before you ice the cupcakes, chop the top of each one and then cut it in half. Pipe or spread the icing on then arrange the two halves of the top on top to look like butterflies. It’s a really easy twist on a simple cupcake, but well worth the effort.
Other fun cupcakes for kids
If you and your kids love making cupcakes, check out some of our other easy cupcake recipes below:
Chocolate chip cupcakes
Nutella cupcakes
Chocolate cupcakes
Funfetti cupcakes
Rainbow cupcakes
Monster cupcakes
M&M cupcakes
Chocolate caramel cupcakes
Or if you want to bake something else with chocolate, check out our favourite chocolate bakes below:
Chocolate fudge cake
Chocolate loaf cake
Chocolate traybake
Chocolate fudge cupcakes
Chocolate Victoria sponge
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Hand held mixer
Wooden spoons
Spatula
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Muffin tin
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Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
40g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
175g (¾ cup) margarine or butter
165g (¾ cup) caster sugar
115g (1 cup) self raising flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs
For the icing
100g (¼ cup) butter
200g (1 ¼ cup) icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk
* If you don’t have any self raising flour, use 1 cup of plain or all-purpose flour and add an extra teaspoon of baking powder.
How to make chocolate butterfly cakes
Preheat your oven to 200C / 180C Fan / 390F and get your kids to line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper or silicon cupcake cases.
Mix everything together
Start by adding the cocoa powder and boiling water to a small bowl and get your kids to carefully mix it together so it forms a nice smooth paste. Add it to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.
Get your kids to measure out all the remaining cupcake ingredients in turn and add them your mixing bowl.
Start with the butter or margarine. We tend to use baking spread/margarine, so just add that straight in. If you’re using butter, chop it into small pieces before adding it to your bowl. It needs to be soft enough to mix, so if it’s too hard, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds just to soften it up.
Next, get your kids to weigh out the flour and caster sugar and add them to your mixing bowl.
Add the baking powder. Make sure your kids use their finger to level the teaspoon so that you add just the right amount.
Lastly, get your kids to crack the eggs into a small bowl. If any shell goes in (as it tends to when little kids are involved), fish it out with a larger bit of shell. Shell should stick to shell better than it will your finger!
Once all your ingredients have been measured out get your kids to mix it all together with the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or even some wooden spoons.
Keep mixing until it has come together in a nice smooth batter. It’ll take a few minutes. If you need to, scrape down the sides of your bowl with a spatula.
Bake the chocolate butterfly cakes
Get your kids to divide the cupcake batter among your cupcake cases. If you have an ice cream scoop, it can be a handy tool for adding the right amound of batter without too much mess. Don’t worry if you don’t have one though, a soup spoon or dessert spoon will do the job just as well.
Add batter until the paper cases are around ¾ full.
Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 12-15 minutes. They’re ready when they have risen nicely. You can double check but inserting a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre. If they’re baked it should come out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the tin for a few minutes before carefully removing them from the tin and popping them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate the chocolate butterfly cakes
Make the icing by beating the butter, icing sugar and a splash of milk together with the k-paddle or your free-standing mixer a hand held mixer or wooden spoons.
Start mixing the buttercream nice and slowly so that the icing sugar doesn’t go everywhere. Once it has started to come together you can turn the speed up and let it mix for a few minutes. The longer you leave it the softer it will become, so we tend to let it mix for at least five minutes.
Put your icing in a piping bag with a large star shaped nozzle. Add a food bag clip to the top of your icing bag so you don’t have to worry about it coming out of the top while your piping.
Make the butterflies, but cutting the top off each cupcake with a sharp knife. This tends to be a job for grown ups or older children. Cut each top in half to form the butterflies ‘wings’.
Get your kids to pipe a swirl of icing onto each cupcake and then put the two half slices on top arranged to look like butterflies.
If your kids are young and find the piping too difficult, you can either help them squeeze and guide the piping bag or simply do the piping yourself and let your kids add the butterflies on top.
If you don’t have a piping bag use a palette knife or butter knife to spread the icing on top before adding the butterfly wings.
Dust with icing sugar.
Serve and enjoy.
Chocolate butterfly cakes
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Freestanding mixer
- Mixing bowl
- Hand held mixer
- Wooden spoons
- Spatula
- Measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Muffin tin
- Cupcake cases
- Wire rack
- Piping bag
Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes
- 40 g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
- 4 tbsp boiling water
- 175 g (¾ cup) margarine or butter softened
- 165 g (¾ cup) caster sugar
- 115 g (1 cup) self raising flour
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 eggs
For the icing
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 100 g ¼ cup butter
- 200 g 1 ¼ cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C / 180C Fan / 390F and get your kids to line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper or silicon cupcake cases.
Mix everything together
- Start by adding the cocoa powder and boiling water to a small bowl and mix it together so it forms a nice smooth paste. Add it to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.
- Measure out all the remaining cupcake ingredients in turn and add them your mixing bowl.
- Start with the butter or margarine. We tend to use baking spread/margarine, so just add that straight in. If you're using butter, chop it into small pieces before adding it to your bowl.Weigh out the flour and caster sugar and add them to your mixing bowl.Add the baking powder. Make sure you use your finger to level the teaspoon so that you add just the right amount.Lastly, crack the eggs into a small bowl before adding them in.
- Once all your ingredients have been measured out mix it all together with the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or even some wooden spoons.Keep mixing until it has come together in a nice smooth batter. It'll take a few minutes. If you need to, scrape down the sides of your bowl with a spatula.
Bake the chocolate butterfly cakes
- Divide the cupcake batter among your cupcake cases. They should be about 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 12-15 minutes. They're ready when they have risen nicely. You can double check but inserting a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre. If they're baked it should come out clean.Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the tin for a few minutes before carefully removing them from the tin and popping them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate the butterfly cakes
- Make the icing by beating the butter, icing sugar and a splash of milk together with the k-paddle or your free-standing mixer a hand held mixer or wooden spoons. Mix it together for around 5 minutes, until the icing is nice and soft.Put your icing in a piping bag with a large star shaped nozzle. Add a food bag clip to the top of your icing bag so you don't have to worry about it coming out of the top while your piping.
- Make the butterflies, but cutting the top off each cupcake with a sharp knife. Cut each top in half to form the butterflies 'wings'.
- Pipe a swirl of icing onto each cupcake and then put the two half slices on top arranged to look like butterflies.If you don't have a piping bag use a palette knife or butter knife to spread the icing on top before adding the butterfly wings.
- Dust with icing sugar.
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If you liked these chocolate butterfly cakes, you’ll love our other easy cupcake recipes as well as our favourite easy bakes for kids.
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