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With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to learn How to Make Halloween Cupcakes that are simple, fun, and so adorable!
It’s always so much fun to decide what to make for an upcoming holiday – and Halloween is no different! Should I make spooky Halloween Cookies, or crowd-pleasing Halloween Brownies? Or make all of the above and put it on a Halloween Charcuterie Board!
Whatever I end up making, I know these spooktacular cupcakes will be involved.
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Decorating can be intimidating, so I have broken the options into easy-to-follow steps, as well as a video showing each step – because I don’t know about you, but that’s always the best way I learn something new!
These cupcakes are so fun for your Halloween party dessert table – or set up all the equipment and buttercream, and let your guests decorate their own. So fun, and you know the kids would love it.
I hope you’ll give these spooktacular treats a try this Halloween!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Halloween Cupcakes
The Best Buttercream for Halloween Cupcakes
I used my Best Buttercream Recipe for each of these cupcakes. You can alternatively use my Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting if you’re making a darker-colored cupcake (like the Spiderweb option below). Both recipes have a ton of my best tips and tricks in the tip boxes above the recipes.
What Cupcake Recipe Should I Use for Halloween Cupcakes?
- My Yellow Cupcakes Recipe make for crowd-pleasing Halloween Cupcakes!
- For the chocolate lovers, my Chocolate Cupcake Recipe here or my Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes are always winners.
- My delicious Red Velvet Cupcakes are delicious and perfect for Halloween, too.
- Funfetti Sheet Cake can easily be altered to make cupcakes too! Adjustments needed are in the recipe card notes (right below the recipe).
Halloween Cupcake Decoration Ideas
Candy Corn Swirl Cupcakes
A super simple approach to Halloween Cupcakes! Simply split a batch of buttercream between three mixing bowls, leaving one bowl white, and coloring one yellow and one orange. Spoon each into one side of a piping bag, like I do in method 3 of this Swirled Cupcake Frosting tutorial. Squeeze the buttercream back out into a mixing bowl until all three colors appear before piping onto the cupcakes.
What you’ll need:
- White buttercream
- Yellow buttercream (I used Americolor Lemon Yellow)
- Orange buttercream (I used Americolor Orange)
- Plain round piping tip (Ateco #808)
- Large piping bags
- Candy corn (optional garnish)
Chocolate Spiderweb Cupcakes
This one is a super pretty Halloween Cupcake, in the spookiest way! To get really dark buttercream, start with a chocolate buttercream, then add black gel food coloring. Melt down white candy melts and transfer to a squeeze bottle with a small hole, or a piping bag with a tiny hole snipped. On a piece of parchment, pipe out small spiderweb designs. Let them set in the fridge for about 10 minutes before peeling off and placing on the buttercream. Add a few plastic spiders for extra effect.
What you’ll need:
- White candy melts
- Black-tinted chocolate buttercream (I used Americolor Super Black)
- Small piping bags
- Edible glitter (for webs)
- Plastic spiders
Spooky Ghost Cupcakes
This is a ridiculously quick and simple Halloween Cupcake, and you might even have everything you need on hand! Simply pipe a swirl of white buttercream using a round piping tip, and add mini chocolate chips for eyes, and a regular-sized chocolate chip for the mouth. So fun!
What you’ll need:
- White buttercream
- Plain round piping tip (Ateco #808)
- Large piping bags
- Mini chocolate chips (eyes)
- Regular chocolate chips (mouth)
Frankenstein Cupcakes
These are SO fun and festive! Unfortunately, I can’t take the credit for this Halloween Cupcake idea; I first saw it on Pinterest via Your Cup of Cake and knew I had to include this method in this post. I found large candy eyes at my local baking supply store, but I’ve also linked below to Wilton’s version, which you can find at most craft stores and some supermarkets during this time of year. If you can’t find them, feel free to use chocolate chips or M&Ms. I also cheated a little and used Wilton’s Red Decorator Gel for the scar, which ended up being a little goopy but was super easy.
What you’ll need:
- Green buttercream (I used Americolor Leaf Green)
- Black sprinkles
- Plain round piping tip (Ateco #808)
- Large piping bags
- Large Candy Eyeballs (or M&Ms or chocolate chips work, too!)
- Red Piping Gel
- Chocolate Chips (bolts)
Mummy Cupcakes
These super fun Halloween Cupcakes are so simple to make! I used a petal decorating tip to get the mummy cloth-wrapped effect. For this, I actually added extra vanilla extract to my buttercream to tint it a little, so the color looked more “worn” like a mummy’s cloth. This one takes a little practice to get the cloth strips right, so try it out a few times on parchment paper then scrape the frosting back into the bowl before actually frosting the cupcakes.
What you’ll need:
How to Make Halloween Cupcakes
I made these cupcakes for my friends children and they were a big hit. They were so easy to make and decorate.
Thanks for these ideas.
Just had to tell you that these were ADORABLE! I’d never truly *decorated* a cupcake before (just slapped some canned frosting on and maybe stuck a candy or pick in ’em)… but decided to make the effort and just SEE if I could do some fun ones for our 7-year-old’s baseball team’s Halloween Party. I decided to do the Mummy, Frankenstein and Spider ones. It was quite the ordeal for me, a new baker, but I survived… and had fun doing it! Word of caution: do NOT try decorating these in the morning with *too* much coffee if you’re already a little nervous about it – HA! They really turned out cute, and I’d do them again (maybe not make quite as many, though…)! Thank you for having the idea, the pictures and the step-by-step how-to on your website!!
(I’m going to try your Sweet Potato Rolls for Thanksgiving with the family… fingers crossed!)
I’m so happy to hear that, Amy!! Thanks so much for your comment. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving xo
Frankenstein is my favorite.
These Halloween cupcakes are adorable. Can’t wait to make them for a Halloween potluck. Was wondering what to bring and these are perfect. Thanks for sharing
Yay!! Let me know how they turn out! If you take a photo tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can see 🙂
The Frankenstein cupcake is my favorite! I am six years old
Oh Tessa love all of them! And I have a Halloween party I am throwing so totally making them all!