Jungle Cupcakes are simple and easy to make—choose from a zebra, monkey, tiger, or panda design.
First up, ZEBRA CUPCAKES.
Of course I had to start with my favorite animal! While I don’t know if these are the cutest or not (I’m kind of partial to the monkeys below), I do have to say that as far as jungle animals go, zebras are my FAVORITE. Black + white stripes are the coolest.
In case you can’t find the ingredients in the store, or prefer the convenience of shopping online, here are links to the ingredients I used:
Zebra Cupcakes
Soft, rich chocolate cupcakes get topped with a smooth layer of frosting, a sparkly sugar coat, and playful zebra stripes. With candy melt faces, M&M ears, and a touch of sparkle gel, these treats bring the safari right to your dessert table!
Equipment
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sour cream full-fat, or full-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or see note 1
- 1 (15.25-ounce) package chocolate fudge cake mix uncooked
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix uncooked
- 1 (16-ounce) container cream cheese frosting or your favorite homemade frosting
Make ’em into a ZEBRA
- White sparkling sugar
- Black candy melts
- Brown M&M’s
- Black sparkle gel
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, briskly whisk the eggs for 20 seconds. Add the vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla, and buttermilk. (If you don’t have buttermilk, combine 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 tbsp white vinegar in a separate cup and let sit for 5 minutes, then add to mixture.) Mix.
- Add in the cake mix and pudding mix (both not prepared) and stir to combine. (Do not over-stir or beat in too much air.)
- Fill up the liners 3/4 the way full and bake for 17–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove and allow to cool completely.
Frosting and Decorating
- Frost the cupcakes smoothly with a butterknife.
- Pour the white sparkling sugar into a bowl and dip the frosted cupcakes into the sugar. Gently press to coat all the frosting in the sprinkles.
- Frost the back of a black candy melt and adhere it to the bottom half of the cupcake. Add 2 M&M’s for ears.
- Use the black sparkle gel to add hair to the zebra (between the M&M’s), stripes, eyes, and a smile face to the candy melt.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Instead of buttermilk, use 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 tbsp vinegar—mixed together and let sit for 5 minutes.
Storage: Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If refrigerated, let them sit at room temp before serving for the best texture.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Next up, MONKEY CUPCAKES.
When we lived in Australia, visiting Bali, Indonesia was only a 3-hour flight. It was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been! We got to go to a monkey forest there where you can interact with monkeys in the wild. (Equally terrifying as it was amazing.) So, of course, monkeys made the cut for jungle animals — my family loves them! 🙂
In case you can’t find the ingredients in the store, or prefer the convenience of shopping online, here are links to the ingredients I used:
Monkey Cupcakes
These Monkey Cupcakes are almost too cute to eat! Soft chocolate cupcakes get a sprinkle-coated frosting, vanilla wafer faces, and candy eyes for the perfect monkey look. Fun to make too!
Equipment
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sour cream full-fat, or full-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or see note 1
- 1 (15.25-ounce) package chocolate fudge cake mix uncooked
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix uncooked
- 1 (16-ounce) container cream cheese frosting or your favorite homemade frosting
Make ’em into a MONKEY
- Brown jimmies sprinkles
- 1 box miniature vanilla wafer cookies
- Candy eyeballs
- Black sparkle gel
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, briskly whisk the eggs for 20 seconds. Add the vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla, and buttermilk. (If you don’t have buttermilk, combine 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 tbsp white vinegar in a separate cup and let sit for 5 minutes, then add to mixture.) Mix.
- Add in cake mix and pudding mix (both not prepared) and stir to combine. (Do not over-stir or beat in too much air.)
- Fill up the liners 3/4 the way full and bake for 17–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove and allow to cool completely.
Frosting and Decorating
- Frost the cupcakes smoothly with a butterknife.
- Pour the brown sprinkles into a bowl and dip the frosted cupcakes into the sprinkles. Gently press to coat all the frosting in the sprinkles.
- Using an extremely sharp knife, make a quick cut into a mini vanilla wafer to make 2 ears. (You will have quite a few casualties!) Stick the ears into the sides of the cupcake to hold. Frost the back of 1 full wafer and press to make the mouth.
- Attach the eyes using black sparkle gel. Draw the mouth and nostrils using black sparkle gel.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Instead of buttermilk, use 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 tbsp vinegar—mixed together and let sit for 5 minutes.
Storage: Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If refrigerated, let them sit at room temp before serving for the best texture.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Third, TIGER CUPCAKES.
And these were hands down the boys’ favorites! I guess you really can’t argue with that bright orange color 🙂
In case you can’t find the ingredients in the store, or prefer the convenience of shopping online, here are links to the ingredients I used:
Tiger Cupcakes
These Tiger Cupcakes are fierce and fun! Soft chocolate cupcakes get a sparkly orange coat, candy ears, and bold black stripes. Cute, easy, and totally delicious!
Equipment
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sour cream full-fat, or full-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or see note 1
- 1 (15.25-ounce) package chocolate fudge cake mix uncooked
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix uncooked
- 1 (16-ounce) container cream cheese frosting or your favorite homemade frosting
Make ’em into a TIGER
- Orange sparkling sugar
- Candy eyeballs
- Orange M&M’s
- Black sparkle gel
- 1 box miniature vanilla wafers
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, briskly whisk the eggs for 20 seconds. Add the vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla, and buttermilk. (If you don’t have buttermilk, combine 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 tbsp white vinegar in a separate cup and let sit for 5 minutes, then add to mixture.) Mix.
- Add in cake mix and pudding mix (both not prepared) and stir to combine. (Do not over-stir or beat in too much air.)
- Fill up the liners 3/4 the way full and bake for 17–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove and allow to cool completely.
Frosting and Decorating
- Frost the cupcakes smoothly with a butterknife.
- Pour the orange sparkling sugar into a bowl and dip the frosted cupcakes into the sugar. Gently press to coat all the frosting in the sprinkles.
- Frost the back of a mini vanilla wafer and adhere it to the bottom half of the cupcake. Add 2 orange M&M’s for ears.
- Use the black sparkle gel to adhere the edible eyes right above the wafer. Use the gel to pipe a mouth on the wafer and curvy stripes to either side of the wafer.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Instead of buttermilk, use 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 tbsp vinegar—mixed together and let sit for 5 minutes.
Storage: Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If refrigerated, let them sit at room temp before serving for the best texture. Avoid stacking to keep the decorations intact!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
And last, PANDA CUPCAKES.
The secret to making these cupcakes really cute are the chocolate chips. I tried a few different brands and flavors (milk, semi-sweet, dark). I found the very best chocolate chips (look-wise) on these cupcakes are Nestle dark chocolate chips. They are just the right color and size!
In case you can’t find the ingredients in the store, or prefer the convenience of shopping online, here are links to the ingredients I used:
Panda Cupcakes
With these Panda Cupcakes, fluffy chocolate cupcakes get a sparkly white coat, chocolate chip ears, and the sweetest little panda face. Fun, easy, and totally irresistible!
Equipment
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sour cream full-fat, or full-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or see note 1
- 1 (15.25-ounce) package chocolate fudge cake mix uncooked
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix uncooked
- 1 (16-ounce) container cream cheese frosting or your favorite homemade frosting
Make ’em into a PANDA
- White sparkling sugar
- Nestle dark chocolate chips
- Candy eyeballs
- Black sparkle gel
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, briskly whisk the eggs for 20 seconds. Add the vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla, and buttermilk. (If you don’t have buttermilk, combine 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 tbsp white vinegar in a separate cup and let sit for 5 minutes, then add to mixture.) Mix.
- Add in cake mix and pudding mix (both not prepared) and stir to combine. (Do not over-stir or beat in too much air.)
- Fill up the liners 3/4 the way full and bake for 17–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove and allow to cool completely.
Frosting and Decorating
- Frost the cupcakes smoothly with a butterknife.
- Pour the white sparkling sugar into a bowl and dip the frosted cupcakes into the sugar. Gently press to coat all the frosting in the sprinkles.
- Press 2 dark chocolate chips to make the panda some ears. Add 2 more chocolate chips for eye sockets and 1 below for a nose (the nose chocolate chip is pressed into the cupcake on its side).
- Use the black sparkle gel to adhere the edible eyes to the chocolate chips and then to add a mouth below the chocolate chip ”nose.“
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Instead of buttermilk, use 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 tbsp vinegar—mixed together and let sit for 5 minutes.
Storage: Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If refrigerated, let them sit at room temp before serving for the best texture. Avoid stacking to keep the decorations intact!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
these cupcakes were so cute;)
Thanks so much Miriam! 🙂 So happy you loved them!
Thank you for sharing your idea on zoo animals! I so enjoyed making them for my grandkids turn out so fun!!
I am so happy these were a hit! Thanks so much Jerilyn! 🙂
I made these 8 years ago for my daughter’s baby shower. It was more key themed. They were adorable and a big hit.
How cute! I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Debby! 🙂
Hi Chelsea, your animal cupcakes are really cute! I have a 3 year old granddaughter that would love to help me make these! Thanks for sharing and have a sweet day, Heather
Thank you so much Heather! I hope you have fun making these with your granddaughter 🙂
I just love those adorable cupcakes!
Hey girl -these cupcakes are so cute! Have a great weekend!
Chelsea these are so adorable!! You are so clever!