Chocolate Cupcakes with Matcha “Moss” and Little Chocolate Bunnies
These chocolate cupcakes start out like any other—rich chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting—but the tops are dipped in a cookie crumb mixture with a little matcha, which turns the crumbs the softest mossy green.
Add a few tiny chocolate bunnies and a scattering of chamomile flowers, and suddenly each cupcake looks like a tiny spring meadow. They’re simple to make, but they feel special—perfect for Easter or any spring gathering.
The Idea Behind These Cupcakes
The inspiration for these cupcakes was the color of early spring in Connecticut—mossy greens, flowers popping up in lawns and gardens, little hints of new growth. Instead of decorating cupcakes with sprinkles, the tops are dipped into a mixture of crushed cookies and matcha powder.
The matcha naturally tints the crumbs a beautiful moss-like green. When the cupcakes are finished with a small chocolate bunny on top, they look like little scenes from a meadow.
What You’ll Need
For the cupcakes and decorating:
- Chocolate cupcakes (homemade or your favorite store-bought cake mix)
- Chocolate buttercream frosting
- Nila Wafer cookies or another similar biscuit cookie
- Matcha powder
- Small chocolate bunnies (I used Lindt bunnies, available at grocery stores and drug stores like CVS).
- Toothpicks
- Chamomile flowers
How to Make the Matcha “Moss”
The moss topping is just crushed cookies with a little matcha powder mixed in.
Place cookies in a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Add a small amount of matcha powder and pulse again until the crumbs turn a soft green color. Or put the cookies in a clean Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Add the matcha and crush again. The mix should still look natural and earthy—like moss on the forest floor.
Pour the crumbs into a shallow bowl so the cupcakes can be dipped easily.
Assembling the Cupcakes
Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, frost the tops with chocolate frosting.
Turn each cupcake upside down and gently dip the frosting into the cookie crumb mixture to completely cover the top. The crumbs will stick to the frosting and create the mossy effect.
Using a toothpick, insert it into a small chocolate bunny and then into the top of each cupcake.
Adding a Few Flowers
To finish, add a few chamomile flowers around the bunny. The tiny white petals and yellow centers look like wildflowers growing in a meadow.
You only need one or two flowers for each cupcake—just enough to make them feel a little whimsical.
A Sweet Little Easter Treat
These cupcakes are simple to make, but they look like something out of a storybook. They would be sweet for an Easter table, a spring brunch, or wrapped up in a small box to give to a friend.
Does it taste like matcha?
I know what you’re thinking…does it taste like matcha? No, it does not. The chocolate buttercream frosting and cake far outweigh the flavor of matcha. You wouldn’t even know it was matcha powder!
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My sister told me about the Venice High-Rise Wide Leg Pants from Athleta. I was in desperate need of updating my “travel pants,” which are probably five years old, faded, and out of style. These pants from Athleta are so comfortable and could be worn with a sneaker (Sambas are my favorite), Birkenstock Clogs, or even a loafer.
You could work out in them, but I wouldn’t rule out wearing them with a sweater, denim jacket, or a stripe tee. The perfect pant! They have wide-leg, straight, and jogger styles and come in three lengths. I really like the wide leg for an updated look.
I would love to make these cupcakes with Louisa when I see her, before our conference. These are DARLING.