Jurassic Dinosaur Cupcakes (Easy Decorating Tutorial)
Are you looking for an EASY decorating tutorial? These Dinosaur Cupcakes were designed to celebrate the release of the Jurassic World Dominion movie! They’re a breeze to make, taste delicious, are perfect as a kids birthday party dessert, and are so much fun for both kids and adults!
I took two of my boys to see the new Jurassic World movie in the theater. Spoiler alert: if you are a fan of either the original Jurassic Park or the newer Jurassic World movies, it’s TOTALLY worth it!
I loved the little nods to the original film and thoroughly enjoyed they way they brought the two sets of Jurassic movie casts together 😉
I’ve been having a blast making fun cupcakes lately, so just as I did with the Encanto movie, I knew I needed to make some fun and easy dinosaur cupcakes!
Each of us came up with a design idea for dino cupcakes, and then it was just a matter of determining how to make each design come to life. That seemed hard at first, but it ended up being easier than I thought.
You might say it was a piece of (cup)cake!
I love how these adorable dinosaur cupcakes turned out – they’re so cute and easy peasy to customize if you want to.
If you love cupcakes, be sure to check out my:
- Quick And Easy Sunshine Cupcakes
- Earth Day Cupcakes
- Easy DIY Speckled Mermaid Cupcakes
- Melted Snowman Cupcakes
How To Make Dinosaur Cupcakes
The first step is to make cupcakes, and you can either use a homemade recipe or use a store-bought cupcake mix.
I’m not using dinosaur cupcake toppers but creating decorations instead. If you want cupcake toppers, see my notes and suggestions down below.
Ingredients Needed
- Chocolate cake mix – don’t forget the additional ingredients per directions!
- Large malted milk ball robin egg candy
- Toasted coconut
- Large decorating sugar eyes
- Chocolate buttercream frosting
- Gray buttercream frosting
- Green buttercream frosting
- Green and chocolate swirled buttercream frosting
For more details on the recipe, please check out the handy printable recipe card at the bottom of the post!
Dinosaur Cupcakes Instructions
Here’s the process for making each of these Jurassic World cupcake designs.
- Bake cupcakes per recipe and cool completely
Nest with eggs
- Use the gray frosting to pipe a smooth flat swirl on the cupcake
- Use the chocolate frosting to pipe a circle in the middle of the cupcake
- Place 1-3 egg candies over the chocolate frosting
- Sprinkle on the toasted coconut to complete the nest
- Use the green frosting with leaf or star tip to create some plants around the nest
Green Dino
- Use the green/chocolate frosting to pipe stars over the entire surface of the cupcake.
- Place the decorating sugar eye in the middle
- Then pipe a few stars at an angle just slightly over the top of the eye to create an angry eyebrow
Dinosaur Tracks
- Use the gray frosting to pipe a smooth flat swirl on the cupcake
- Place the cupcake in the freezer for about 10 minutes
- Brush a very slight amount of oil on the bottom of the toy dinosaur feet
- Press firmly into the chilled frosting to leave an imprint
- Fill the imprint with chocolate frosting
- Add leaves and plants with the green frosting
- Sprinkle a small amount of toasted coconut around the tracks
Don’t they look adorable?
Dinosaur Cupcakes Variation Ideas
- I used chocolate cupcakes for this recipe, but you could totally change the flavor of the cupcakes. Make moist vanilla cupcakes, banana cupcakes, or add extract to the mix to add a bit of flavor.
- Crush up some Vanilla Wafers or graham crackers to add some “dirt” to these Jurassic cupcakes.
- Instead of dino tracks, top your dinosaur cupcakes with mini dinosaur figurines or toppers.
Dinosaur Cupcakes FAQs
If you have questions about making these Jurassic World delicious cupcakes, check to see if I’ve already answered them below. Don’t see your questions? Leave them in the comments so I can answer them!
Certainly! They can be frozen for 2 – 3 months if stored in a freezer-safe container or plastic storage bag.
I recommend freezing them after you make the dinosaur muffins but before you add the frosting and other decorations.
Yes! If you do that rather than buying colored buttercream, use gel food coloring because it dyes high-fat foods much more effectively. And by dyeing white frosting, you can create any color combination you want!
These fun dinosaur cupcakes are so delicious that you may not have any leftovers. But if you do, they can be kept at room temperature (or in the fridge) for 2 – 3 days if stored in an airtight container or plastic storage bag.
If your preference is to make your own, buttercream is definitely the best because it stays stiff enough to pipe and get a well-defined shape. 😉
You can also use pre-made buttercream and use food coloring to make it the exact color you want.
If the pre-made icing needs to be thickened in order to stand up sufficiently, simply add a little bit of powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
I used chocolate cupcakes simply because we LOVE chocolate and thought they would add a nice background. However, a flavorful moist vanilla cupcake would be an excellent option too!
Dino Cupcake Topper Ideas
If you’d rather use cupcake toppers or need other dino party decorations and party supplies, I have a few ideas for gorgeous (and easy) dinosaur party items.
- Tiered Dinosaur Cupcake Stand + Cupcake Toppers
- Baby Dinosaur Cupcake Toppers
- Mini Dinosaur Figure Cupcake Toppers
- Dinosaur Glitter Cupcake Picks
- Watercolor Dinosaur Party Cupcake Toppers
- Dinosaur Cake Toppers with Dinosaur Eggs, Leaves, and Trees
- Dinosaur Birthday Party Supplies Kit
More Fun Cupcake Recipes
If you love these easy dinosaur cupcakes and want more easy cupcake decorating ideas, check out these popular cupcakes!
- Mardi Gras Cupcakes
- Cute Football Cupcakes
- Easy Christmas Tree Cupcakes
- Mini Halloween Unicorn Cake (Cupcakes)
Jurassic Dinosaur Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box of chocolate cake mix + additional ingredients per directions OR your favorite recipe
- Large malted milk ball robin egg candy
- Toasted coconut
- Large decorating sugar eyes
- Chocolate buttercream frosting in a piping bag with a small cut tip
- Gray buttercream frosting in a piping bag with a medium cup tip
- Green buttercream frosting in a piping bag with a leaf tip
- Green and chocolate swirled buttercream frosting in a piping bag with a star tip
Instructions
- Bake cupcakes per recipe and cool completely
Nest
- Use the gray frosting to pipe a smooth flat swirl on the cupcake
- Use the chocolate frosting to pipe a circle in the middle of the cupcake
- Place 1-3 egg candies over the chocolate frosting
- Sprinkle on the toasted coconut to complete the nest
- Use the green frosting with leaf or star tip to create some plants around the nest
Dinosaur
- Use the green/chocolate frosting to pipe stars over the entire surface of the cupcake.
- Place the decorating sugar eye in the middle
- Then pipe a few stars at angle just slightly over the top of the eye to create an angry eyebrow
Dinosaur Tracks
- Use the gray frosting to pipe a smooth flat swirl on the cupcake
- Place cupcake in the freezer for about 10 minutes
- Brush very light amount of oil on the bottom of the toy dinosaur feet
- Press firmly into the chilled frosting to leave an imprint
- Fill the imprint with chocolate frosting
- Add leaves and plants with the green frosting
- Sprinkle a small amount of toasted coconut around the tracks
