I came across these Silly Cupcakes in the book Hello Cupcake years ago when my boys were little and knew immediately they were right up our alley. I’ve never been that into pranks, so April Fool’s Day was always a day of funny and silliness for us anyway. Using sweet ingredients to turn what looks like dinner into a delicious dessert is the perfect “trick” in my book! From spaghetti and meatballs to mashed potatoes and vegetables, these cute little cupcakes make the sweetest prank!
Ingredients and Supplies Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Cupcakes – Make your own Cupcakes or do what I do and pick up some unfrosted cupcakes from your local grocery store or bakery to make things easy!
- Frosting – Same thing. Make your own Buttercream Frosting, or just grab some store-bought frosting.
- Add-ons for desired cupcakes – Ferrero Rocher, jam, and white chocolate or almond bark for spaghetti and meatballs, Starburst and runts for peas and carrots, Starbursts and caramel syrup for mashed potato and gravy, Jelly Bellies and black and clear sprinkles or poppy seeds and sugar for corn, and mini marshmallows for popcorn.
- Piping bag and round tip – For piping spaghetti frosting. You could easily do this with a zip-top bag with the corner cut off as well.
- Disposable muffin tin – Optional, but helps sell the illusion of freshly made savory food!
How to Make Silly Cupcakes
Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes
- Using a piping bag with a small round tip. ust by squeezing and holding the bag in one spot, the noodles form by themselves that way. I just held the tip above the cupcake and moved the cupcake around with my hand until the top was covered.
- Our “meatballs” are just Ferrero Rocher candies dunked in a little berry jam. Drizzle a little jam (thinned with hot water if needed) over the frosting noodles and plop a Ferrero Rocher meatball on top.
- If desired, grate a little white chocolate or almond bark to look like parmesan cheese on top!
Peas and Carrots
- Add a thin layer of green frosting to your cupcake.
- Cut orange Starbursts into pieces and shape with your hands into squares to look like carrots. Grab some limes from a Runts mix.
- Arrange your green and orange candies to look like peas and carrots on top of your cupcakes.
Mashed Potatoes
- Frost your cupcakes with white vanilla frosting, leaving a little well at the top.
- Drizzle with caramel syrup to look like gravy and top with a flattened yellow Starburst to look like butter.
Corn on the Cob
- Frost 3 cupcakes with pale yellow frosting. Use Jelly Bellies in white and yellow (buttered popcorn flavor works really well!) to create the corn kernels.
- Top the center with a flattened yellow Starburst or Laffy Taffy for butter.
- Sprinkle with black and clear sprinkles or sugar and poppy seeds to look like salt and pepper.
- Pop some corn cob holders in the ends if desired!
Popcorn
- Make popcorn pieces by cutting a few mini marshmallows into 3 slices with a pair of scissors and then glue another mini marshmallow to the top. You can use the pale yellow ones from a fruit flavored marshmallow mix or white would be cute, too.
- Frost your cupcakes and attach your marshmallow popcorn.
Silly Cupcakes for April Fools
These darling cupcakes look like dinner or veggies, but they're really just the sweetest prank around!
Equipment
- disposable foil cupcake tin optional but adds to the illusion of savory foods
- piping bag with round tip or zip-top bag with a hole cut in the corner
Ingredients
For All
- cupcakes
Spaghetti and Meatballs
- pale yellow frosting
- Ferrero Rocher candies
- berry jam
- white chocolate or almond bark candy coating
Peas and Carrots
- light green frosting
- green limes from Runts candy
- orange Starburst candy
Mashed Potatoes
- white or cream frosting
- caramel sauce
- yellow Starburst or Laffy Taffy
Corn on the Cob
- pale yellow frosting
- yellow and white Jelly Belly jelly beans buttered popcorn ones work well
- black and clear sugar sprinkles or sugar and poppy seeds
Popcorn
- white or cream frosting
- mini marshmallows yellow or white
Instructions
Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Using a piping bag with a small round tip. ust by squeezing and holding the bag in one spot, the noodles form by themselves that way. I just held the tip above the cupcake and moved the cupcake around with my hand until the top was covered.
- Our “meatballs” are just Ferrero Rocher candies dunked in a little berry jam. Drizzle a little jam (thinned with hot water if needed) over the frosting noodles and plop a Ferrero Rocher meatball on top.
- If desired, grate a little white chocolate or almond bark to look like parmesan cheese on top!
Peas and Carrots
- Add a thin layer of green frosting to your cupcake.
- Cut orange Starbursts into pieces and shape with your hands into squares to look like carrots. Grab some limes from a Runts mix.
- Arrange your green and orange candies to look like peas and carrots on top of your cupcakes.
Mashed Potatoes
- Frost your cupcakes with white vanilla frosting, leaving a little well at the top.
- Drizzle with caramel syrup to look like gravy and top with a flattened yellow Starburst to look like butter.
Corn on the Cob
- Frost 3 cupcakes with pale yellow frosting. Use Jelly Bellies in white and yellow (buttered popcorn flavor works really well!) to create the corn kernels.
- Top the center with a flattened yellow Starburst or Laffy Taffy for butter.
- Sprinkle with black and clear sprinkles or sugar and poppy seeds to look like salt and pepper.
- Pop some corn cob holders in the ends if desired!
Popcorn
- Make popcorn pieces by cutting a few mini marshmallows into 3 slices with a pair of scissors and then stick another mini marshmallow to the top with a bit of frosting. You can use the pale yellow ones from a fruit flavored marshmallow mix or white would be cute, too.
- Frost your cupcakes and attach your marshmallow popcorn.
Notes
To make your life easier, pick up some premade, unfrosted cupcakes from your grocery store or local bakery!
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Questions & Reviews
These are so clever! *love*
You just gave me a great idea. I’m going out of town on April 1st and leaving the hubby alone with the kids for 5 days. I’ll have to make them these cupcakes as a surprise treat before I leave. So super cute!
These are the types of fun treats boys (as I have three) truly get a kick out of. Thank you for sharing, and for the helpful time saving tips. I like to read how you add your own voice and process of making it–much better then just reading a recipe in a book (IMO) 🙂
I’m not sure if I should be proud or if I should be embarassed to say I’ve made every one of those cupcakes you posted about ha ha. Most recently the popcorn. I just love that book! And most of them are very simple to make. They’re just so much fun. You did a great job with them!
I made a spaghetti and meatball cake for my daughter’s birthday this year. It was a lot of fun, and the kids loved it! And I LOVE the buttered popcorn jelly bellies!
{sigh} I have that book, too, but my stuff never comes out as great as yours does. I love the hints and tips you give to make things so much easier!! Thanks! 😉
For your silly dinner you could do a mystery dinner. My family had them quite frequently. You make a menu (Including food, random utensils such as whisks and spaghetti scoops, drinks, etc.) and give them crazy names (I.e. “log roller” for a toothpick stuck in a styro cup with water in it.) or depending on the meal, you could find all the names on google translate in a certain language. Give everyone a menu and have them order approx. 5 courses with three things each course. It gets a little crazy when you get spaghetti and a butcher knife to eat it with. One of my favourite silly things to do! Good luck!
P.S. LOVED the cupcakes! So cute. 🙂
That’s what I was thinking Desiree! We did that once at a family reunion when I was a kid and I remember it being so much fun. But I couldn’t remember all of the fun names for the food (and I definitely can’t give my toddlers knives to eat with! haha)
I think you could come up with silly names. And yes, avoid knives. 🙂
A butcher knife?!?!
Well, we were a little older then. Not toddlers with butcher knives. That would be unsafe. Plastic knives?
OMG, I LOVE It!! I will have to try this out. Spaghetti and meatballs for sure since it seems so easy (not a good cake decorator). I will have to buy the book (linked to, credit given) and see what else there is. Thanks for sharing such a cute idea! I’d do it for one of my kids’ birthdays. Or for a grown up birthday since we aren’t “supposed” to like cupcakes.
I LOVE the buttered popcorn Jelly Belly candies. My absolute favorites! When I’m handing out the jellybeans, I have to make sure none of the kids get my favorite flavor!!!
I have this book and their other one. Both are hysterical. I love the little monsters in the next book with stringy frosting and eyeballs made from dum dum suckers.
This year, I think we’re going to have “cupcakes” for supper, but I’m going to make individual meatloafs.
We’ve actually had an adult party where everybody had to bring cupcakes or muffins to make up the whole meal. We had meatloaf, little quiches, zucchini and parmesan muffins, mashed potatoes, and a bunch of desserts that fit in muffin pans.
I made the speghetti cupcakes but instead of the candy I made cakepops. They turned great.