Halloween Cupcakes Recipe: Decorate, Delight, and Devour!

Halloween Cupcakes are the perfect treat to sweeten up your spooky season! Each cupcake is a mini-masterpiece, topped with creamy frosting, candy eyes, or spiderweb designs that add just the right dose of Halloween charm.

These are so fun to make and even more fun to eat, making them a hit at every Halloween party or cozy night in. Imagine biting into a moist, chocolatey cupcake that’s as spooky as it is delicious—it’s a festive delight you don’t want to miss!

Serve these Halloween cupcakes with a warm Baked Apple with Oats for a cozy autumn vibe or pair them with a cup of Hot Chocolate to keep the chills away on Halloween night.

Why I Love This Recipe (And You Will Too)

Orange buttercream is piped in bands from the bottom to the top of a cupcake on the white marble cooktop. A green stem and black face are added for a pumpkin design.

  • So Much Room for Creativity: Customize each cupcake with your own spooky twist, from frosting monsters to ghostly faces.
  • Kid-Friendly: Perfect for little hands to help decorate and personalize!
  • Incredibly Moist and Flavorful: These cupcakes are as delicious as they are adorable, with a rich chocolate flavor that everyone loves.
  • Perfectly Festive: They bring instant Halloween cheer to any table and look fantastic in photos.

These Halloween Cupcakes are sure to be the star of your treat table, bringing fun, flavor, and plenty of spooky spirit to any gathering!

Orange buttercream is piped in bands from the bottom to the top of a cupcake on the white marble cooktop. A green stem and black face are added for a pumpkin design.

Halloween Cupcakes Recipe

These Halloween-themed cupcakes are as spooky as they are sweet, each decorated as a mummy, spider, pumpkin, Frankenstein, or skull for a deliciously haunting treat!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24
Calories 150 kcal

Equipment

  • Stand mixer with paddle attachment
  • Cupcake pan and cupcake papers
  • Mixing bowls
  • Sifter
  • Whisk
  • Piping bags and round tips (47 flat tip optional)
  • Toothpicks or point tool
  • Parchment paper

Ingredients
  

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1/2 cup sour cream 120g
  • 1 cup buttermilk 240mL
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup hot coffee 360mL strong use a mocha pot so it’s basically espresso
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil 180mL
  • 1 tbs vanilla extract 15mL
  • 3 cup all-purpose flour 360g
  • 2 2/3 cup granulated sugar 535g
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder 65g
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 6g
  • 1 tbsp baking soda 18g
  • 1 tsp kosher salt 5g

For the Buttercream:

  • 3 tsp vanilla 15mL
  • 1 lb confectioner’s sugar 450g
  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature 250g
  • 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream 45mL
  • Green food coloring
  • Orange food coloring
  • black gel food coloring

For the Assembly:

  • brown m&ms regular and peanut
  • 3/4 cup melted chocolate

Instructions
 

  • Make the Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), line a cupcake pan, and sift all dry ingredients in a mixer bowl. Whisk wet ingredients separately, combine with dry ingredients, and mix on medium for 2 minutes. Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
    A glass bowl on the white marble cooktop holds sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, hot coffee, vegetable oil, and vanilla being whisked together. The mixture is ready to be poured into the mixer bowl with the dry ingredients.
  • Prepare Buttercream: In a stand mixer, whip butter until smooth, then gradually add confectioner’s sugar. Add cream, vanilla, and whip until fluffy. Divide and color buttercream with green, orange, and black food colorings.
    The black cupcake pan on the white marble cooktop is filled with freshly baked cupcakes. A toothpick is inserted into one of the cupcakes, coming out clean to show they’re perfectly baked.
  • Pipe Mummy: Pipe a black base, then add thin white buttercream lines for bandages. Attach candy eyes.
    A black buttercream base is being piped onto a cooled cupcake on the white marble cooktop. Thin white buttercream lines are added for mummy bandages, with candy eyes placed on top
  • Make Spider: Pipe ‘L’ shaped legs with black chocolate on parchment and freeze for 5 minutes. Pipe a white base, swirl black for a web, and add brown M&M’s as body and head, then attach legs.
    A cupcake with a white buttercream base is piped on the white marble cooktop. A black swirl creates a spiderweb design, with brown M&M’s added for the spider’s body and head. Frozen chocolate legs are carefully attached.
  • Decorate Pumpkin: Pipe orange bands from bottom to top. Add a green stem and black face.
    Orange buttercream is piped in bands from the bottom to the top of a cupcake on the white marble cooktop. A green stem and black face are added for a pumpkin design.
  • Create Frankenstein: Pipe a green base, place candy eyes, and add black details for face.
  • Design Skull: Pipe a white base, then add black facial details for a spooky skull.

Nutritional Facts:

NutritionValue
Calories150 kcal
Fat6 g
Cholesterol13 mg
Sugar8 g
Protein2 g

Tips that Might Be Helpful to You!

  • Make frosting while baking: Prepare your frosting as the cake bakes to keep things efficient.
  • Cool cupcakes fully before frosting: Let the cupcakes cool completely, or the frosting will melt right off. They should feel just barely warm to the touch before decorating.
  • Test for doneness: Check if your cupcakes are done by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, they’re ready; if not, give them a few more minutes in the oven.
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Noah Baker

Hi! I’m Noah Baker

Noah Baker is a California-born food blogger behind "FreshmanCook," whose culinary journey began in his tiny apartment kitchen experimenting with recipes that blend innovative techniques and personal passion. After leaving his graphic design career, Noah transformed his love for cooking into a vibrant online platform that celebrates accessible, creative cuisine, capturing food lovers' attention with his stunning photography and approachable recipes. When he's not crafting mouthwatering dishes or styling food for his blog, Noah lives in a cozy apartment with his rescue dog, Basil.

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