Description
Celebrate Halloween with these fun and easy decorated cupcakes featuring four spooky designs: Green Monster, Purple Monster, Jack-o’-Lantern, and Spider. Using a classic pumpkin cupcake base topped with creamy vanilla buttercream, these cupcakes are perfect for parties or festive treats with detailed piping techniques and colorful gel food coloring.
Ingredients
Scale
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 12 pumpkin cupcakes or your favorite cupcake recipe
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 6 cups (720g) confectioners’ sugar (see note)
- 6 Tablespoons (60ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
Coloring & Decoration Supplies
- Gel food coloring: Leaf Green, Fuchsia + Violet, Orange, Super Black
- 2 to 3 piping bags and couplers
- Piping tips: small open star tip (Wilton #21), large petal tip (Wilton #125), small round tip (Wilton #4)
- Small candy eyeballs
- Large candy eyeballs
- Mini candy eyeballs
- Optional: sprinkles
- Oreo Mini cookies for spider cupcakes
Instructions
- Make the vanilla buttercream: Using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat softened butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 5 and 1/2 cups (660g) confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high for 2 minutes. Add salt as needed, about 1/8 teaspoon. To remove air bubbles, stir by hand with a spatula pressing frosting against bowl sides until bubbles diminish, about 1–2 minutes.
- Adjust consistency: If frosting is too thin, add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners’ sugar. If too thick, add heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing and tasting until desired consistency is reached.
- Tint the frosting: Divide frosting into bowls for each color needed. Tint with gel food coloring (use a toothpick of black gel to tone down bright colors if desired). Keep one bowl white for spider cupcakes. For purple monster, combine Fuchsia and Violet to create pinkish purple shade. Remember colors darken as frosting sits.
- Green Monster Cupcakes: Fit piping bag with small open star tip (Wilton #21). Fill with green frosting. Pipe a spiral from outside to center on each cupcake. Press a large candy eyeball into the center gently.
- Purple Monster Cupcakes: Fit piping bag with small open star tip (Wilton #21). Fill with purple frosting. Pipe stars all over cupcake surface. Press small candy eyeballs into the frosting. Add sprinkles if desired.
- Jack-o’-Lantern Cupcakes: Fit three piping bags with large petal tip (Wilton #125) for orange, small open star tip (Wilton #21) for green, and small round tip (Wilton #4) for black frosting. Pipe rounded vertical lines with orange frosting to simulate pumpkin ridges. Pipe green pumpkin stem. Use black frosting to pipe eyes, nose, and mouth in goofy or spooky shapes.
- Spider Cupcakes: Spread white frosting smoothly on cupcake with offset spatula or knife. Use black frosting in a piping bag with small round tip (Wilton #4) to pipe three criss-cross lines forming six triangular web sections, then connect with curved lines for the web. Place half of a mini Oreo cookie on the web as the spider’s body. Pipe two small black dots for eyes and stick two mini candy eyeballs on them. Pipe eight legs, four on each side.
- Storage: Store decorated cupcakes uncovered at room temperature for a few hours before serving. Cover and refrigerate leftovers up to 5 days. Use a cupcake carrier for safe transport.
Notes
- If making fewer cupcakes or fewer designs, scale down buttercream quantity accordingly.
- To reduce air bubbles in buttercream, hand stir frosting against bowl sides after mixing.
- Gel food colorings provide vibrant color with minimal frosting thinning.
- Adjust frosting consistency with confectioners’ sugar or cream for optimal piping texture.
- Use cupcake carriers for traveling or storing to maintain decoration integrity.
- Buttercream can be tinted ahead and refrigerated briefly; bring to room temperature before piping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
