Here is the original recipe for Easy Decorated Halloween Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
- 12 cupcakes of your favorite flavor (e.g. pumpkin, vanilla, chocolate)
- 1 batch of vanilla buttercream frosting (see recipe card below)
- Gel food coloring in orange, leaf green, super black, and fuchsia + violet
- Candy eyeballs in assorted sizes (large for green monsters, small for purple monsters)
- Optional: Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions:
1. Start by baking your favorite flavor of cupcakes. Make sure they are completely cooled before decorating.
2. Prepare a batch of vanilla buttercream frosting using the recipe card below. This frosting is recommended for easy piping and great taste.
3. Divide the frosting into separate bowls and use gel food coloring to tint each bowl with your desired colors. Use orange for jack-o'-lanterns, green for monsters, and black for spider webs.
4. Transfer the colored frostings into separate piping bags fitted with the appropriate piping tips for each design. Use disposable or reusable piping bags, depending on your preference.
5. To make the monster cupcakes, pipe a simple spiral of green-tinted frosting onto the cupcakes. Place a large candy eyeball in the center. For the purple monsters, pipe little stars across the surface of the cupcakes. Add small candy eyeballs and sprinkles for decoration.
6. To make the jack-o'-lantern cupcakes, use a large petal tip to pipe orange frosting onto the cupcakes. Start with the sides and work your way in, finishing with a vertical line down the middle. Add a green stem with a small open star tip. Use black frosting and a small round tip to draw on the eyes, nose, and mouth.
7. To make the spider cupcakes, spread white frosting onto the cupcakes and smooth it out. Pipe a black web across the top. Separate mini Oreo cookies and scrape off the filling. Place half of a mini Oreo cookie on each cupcake where you want the spider to sit. Pipe 2 small dots of black frosting onto the Oreo cookie and press mini candy eyeballs onto them. Pipe 8 black frosting legs for the spider.
8. Repeat the process for each design until all the cupcakes are decorated.
9. Serve and enjoy your spooky Halloween cupcakes!
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks or 340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 6 cups (720g) confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) whole milk or heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy and smooth.
2. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the milk (or heavy cream), vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. The frosting is now ready to be tinted and used for decorating.
Note: Gel food coloring is recommended for best results. Add a tiny amount of black food coloring to tone down the brightness of neon colors, if desired.
