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These Green Velvet Cupcakes with cute shamrocks toppers are perfect for celebrating St Patrick’s day!
Green Velvet Cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day
These scratch green velvet cupcakes are a festive way to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. The edible shamrock toppers are a fun addition. Kids and adults alike will love these green cupcakes.
How to Make Green Velvet Cupcakes
Here I’ll walk you through the process of making these St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes. Grab the printable recipe card below.
The recipe makes one dozen cupcakes.
Ingredients
Here is everything you will need to make the green velvet cupcakes, frosting and shamrock toppers.
Green Velvet Cupcakes:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp high-quality cocoa powder
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- ½ tsp green gel food coloring
Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk
Decoration:
- 3-4 oz. green rolling fondant
- ¼ cup golden and white pearl sprinkles
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and oil.
Add milk and egg and stir. Finally, add white vinegar and mix.
Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
Once batter is formed, add gel food coloring. Mix thoroughly until batter is completely tinted.
Fill lined muffin tin until each section is filled about 2/3 of the way.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
To make the buttercream, beat all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Star on low speed and gradually increase to high.
Once ingredients are well-combined, smooth and form semi-stiff peaks, the buttercream is ready.
Scoop into a piping bag with a star tip (Wilton tip #21 works great!) and frost each green velvet cupcake.
Shape the green fondant into St. Patrick’s clovers. To make one, roll out 6 spheres, about half of an inch thick.
Take two spheres and press them together, giving them a point on one end. This will create a heart shape. Repeat for the other 2 pairs of spheres.
Press the three fondant hearts together, with one in the center and the other two on the side, slightly angled.
Repeat 11 more times to have enough for the dozen cupcakes.
Arrange a clover on each cupcake. Garnish the cupcake with pearl sprinkles. Serve and enjoy!
More St. Patrick’s Day Desserts
- Leprechaun Balls: A St. Patrick’s Day Dessert for Grown-Ups
- Green Crinkle Cookies
- Leprechaun Gold Cookies: Edible Gold Coated Oreo Coins
- St. Patrick’s Day Popcorn Recipe: Leprechaun Popcorn

Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp high-quality cocoa powder
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- ½ tsp green gel food coloring
For the buttercream:
- 1 stick 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk
To decorate:
- 3-4 oz. green rolling fondant
- ¼ cup golden and white pearl sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
- In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and oil.
- Add milk and egg and stir.
- Add white vinegar and mix. Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
- Once batter is formed, add gel food coloring. Mix thoroughly until batter is completely tinted.
- Fill lined muffin tin until each section is filled about 2/3 of the way.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack before decorating.
- To make the buttercream, beat all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Star on low speed and gradually increase to high.
- Once ingredients are well-combined, smooth and form semi-stiff peaks, the buttercream is ready.
- Scoop into a piping bag with a star tip (Wilton tip #21 works great!) and frost each cupcake.
- Shape the green fondant into St. Patrick’s clovers. To make one, roll out 6 spheres, about half of an inch thick.
- Take two spheres and press them together, giving them a point on one end. This will create a heart shape. Repeat for the other 2 pairs of spheres.
- Press the three fondant hearts together, with one in the center and the other two on the side, slightly angled.
- Repeat 11 more times to have enough for the dozen cupcakes.
- Arrange a clover on each cupcake. Garnish the cupcake with pearl sprinkles. Serve and enjoy!
Traci Kenworth says
How adorable!
Robin Gagnon says
Thanks. I thought they were fun for St Patrick’s 🙂