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!
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
The titles of the recipe are not showing up when I look at your blog…any ideas why? Also, once found a candy like pizza. I used a tortilla, jam for sauce, melted white chocolate for the cheese and black licorice for olives. It wasn’t very good:)
Amanda- everything looks fine to me so I’m guessing it’s just a glitch with your browser.
I LOVE ‘buttered popcorn’ Jelly Bellies™, and I love the idea of silly cupcakes, including the peas ‘n carrots. What a wonderful treat and prank at the same time. You guys are awesome!
Love these. I had a friend that made a kitty litter cake with tootsie roll poops…thanks for the clever ideas.
PS., I love the butter popcorn Jelly Belly’s too!
I love this idea! Not only will the kids enjoy Friday’s “dessert”, but I think I will bring some into work 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration…I was wondering what to do this year!
The best April Fool’s food prank we’ve ever pulled was a couple years ago … we made a meatloaf (I know how the Our Best Bites girls feel about meatloaf – but bear with me!) in a round cake pan and covered it with mashed potato frosting (mashed potatoes dyed pink!) The potatoes have to be very smooth to pull it off, but it really looked like cake! My kids loved “fooling” Daddy! 🙂 Your peas and carrots cupcakes could be a perfect dessert course!
Hi there! I was just wondering what kind of frosting you used on the spaghetti and meatballs cupcakes? Such a cute idea, hoping to do this on Friday.
Amy
Any buttercream will work- honestly for these I just used a can of store-bought stuff! Normally I don’t use canned frosting because I don’t like the taste- but since these were for my kids who don’t care, it was easy!
I love these ideas!!!
I love, love, love the corn on the cob. I was actually eating Jelly Belly mixed beans when I was reading this and was thinking that if the popcorn flavor isn’t your thing (why WOULDN’T it be?) you could use the white coconut and yellow pina colada flavored beans (I know you suggested the colors, but I thought it was cool that these two flavors specifically would look and taste good together) and you could make a pinapple, coconut or pina colada flavored cupcake. Not only would it LOOK good…it woudl taste YUMMY! Or…wait! You could make corn muffins with the buttered popcorn jelly beans! The possibilities are endless….
We always eat with random utensils on random things like cookie sheets or pie tins. I always make mini meatloaves in cucake wrappers. I make mashed potatoes and pipe them on like frosting. I then sprinkle carrots that are chopped to look like sprinkles. My kids love it. The first year I made this, they thought we were really eating cupacakes for dinner.