DIY Spooky Halloween Cupcakes

These cupcakes not only look spooky but they are delicious. The cupcake is a fluffy chocolate batter that is tender and moist, frosted with cream cheese frosting and chocolate fudge frosting.

We are half way into October and if you didn’t know, its full on spooky season treats. I am a sucker for easy DIY recipes that are perfect for the season. There is something so comforting about making delicious treats for pennies, instead of spending a ton of money on fancy things to use only once. These chocolate cupcakes are so fluffy and delicious, you will be blown away at how easy it is to make. Now you could top it with any frosting but I like using cream cheese frosting and a chocolate fudge frosting. Both of them are not too sweet and taste absolutely delicious with the cupcakes.

You could totally buy halloween treats from the store but when they are so easy and pocket friendly to make at home, you don’t need to do that. Make these cupcakes ahead of time as well to break up the baking process. Also they taste much better the next day, not to mention the texture is softer and more tender. This post is possible thanks to Tavola and Wilton Middle East, they are your one stop shop to all things spooky, delicious and homemade this halloween.

What does the recipe consist of?

Chocolate cupcakes –

This is my go to chocolate cupcake recipe. They are so simple to make, we mix wet ingredients and add dry ingredients, mix until smooth and it bakes up 24 cupcakes. Which is never a problem. You could absolutely half the recipe to make 12 if you are looking for a smaller quantity. These cupcakes are tender, moist and have an indulgent chocolate flavor. You could use a vanilla cupcake recipe or check out my Red velvet cupcake recipe with beetroot instead of food color.

Cream cheese frosting –

This frosting is so easy as we are meant to under mix it unlike other frostings. We want stiff peaks and over beating the cream cheese will make the frosting sloppy and difficult to hold its shape. You could just as well use buttercream to make this recipe, I would recommend using a recipe that isn’t too sweet as it should make your mouth feel tacky or numb from the sweetness.

Chocolate fudge frosting –

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this frosting. It is literally butter, cocoa powder, icing sugar and a little water. It is so dark and delicious that I can eat it from the bowl directly. Sometimes I like adding a little melted dark chocolate into the frosting or espresso powder for a deeper chocolate flavor. Further more, you can use black cocoa powder to make this frosting black in color, naturally, hence avoiding staining.

What ingredients do we need to make these Chocolate cupcakes?

Wet ingredients –

The recipe calls for eggs, oil, cold coffee, buttermilk and vanilla. If you are looking to make these cupcakes eggless, you can use 50gm yogurt per egg or 1 flaxseed egg per egg. To keep these cupcakes vegan use any dairy free milk. Alternatively make your own buttermilk by mixing milk with 2 tsp lemon juice/apple cider vinegar. To make the coffee I just mix 1 tbsp instant coffee with warm water and let it cool down before using.

Dry ingredients –

We need flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and castor sugar. If you don’t have brown sugar you can use castor sugar all the way. I like using dutch processed cocoa powder as it is more intense in flavor. Either way, use a cocoa powder you like the flavor of as there is a good amount of it in the cupcakes. I have used gluten free all purpose flour to make these cupcakes gluten free and they are perfect! You cannot taste the difference one bit.

What equipment do you need to make these Chocolate cupcakes?

I have used a large mixing bowl, whisk and spatula. You can use a stand mixer but you don’t need to as it is a very simple recipe. Also, I like to transfer the batter to a jug before filling the cupcake tray as it is a liquid batter and it helps to avoid a mess. I have used a 24 cupcake tray to bake these in the oven. In saying this, if you don’t have a large baking tray or oven to accommodate the tray them bake them in batches and the cupcakes will not get affected. We also need cupcake liners to line the tin before baking. I used spooky ones, obviously.

How to make these Chocolate cupcakes?

We start by preheating the oven to 160℃ and line a 24 cupcake tray with cupcake liners, set aside. In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, oil, sugars and whisk until smooth. Add vanilla, buttermilk, cold coffee and mix again. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk until smooth. Transfer the batter into a jug and pour the batter into the lined cupcake tray, filling it 3/4th of the way. Bake for 22-24 mins until they are risen and the top is dry to the touch. Let them cool completely before you frost them. Once they are cooled you could serve them with a dusting of icing sugar and cocoa powder to keep it simple but lets talk about frosting options.

How to make Cream cheese frosting?

The beauty about this cream cheese frosting recipe is how little you have to mix it, unlike other frosting recipes. We beat the better unit smooth, add the icing sugar and beat again until pale and fluffy, add vanilla, cream cheese and beat again until just combined. I like to make this by hand with a bowl and whisk but you could an electric beater or stand mixer if you like, just make sure not to over mix it. You could use this to frost the cupcakes on its own with a spoon or spatula but I divided it into two parts and colored the other part with a pumpkin orange. Transfer to piping bags or ziplock bags and set aside. If you wan to get fancy, use nozzles for different designs when you pipe.

How to make the Chocolate fudge frosting?

This recipe is inspired by a dear friend of mine, Sabeen, she made one similar to this many many years ago and ever since, I’ve loved it. I like to beat the butter until pale and fluffy, add the icing sugar and cocoa powder into the butter in intervals and beat well. I prefer using a stand mixer to make this frosting as, it is better to have the machine to the hard work of beating it together. Same as the cream cheese frosting, transfer this to piping bags or zip lock bags and set aside. If you want to make this frosting black you could either use dark/black cocoa powder or black food coloring.

How to assemble and decorate these cupcakes?

Once the cupcakes are cooled and the frosting is ready, now comes the fun part. I like to use melted white and dark chocolate to make little eyes on the cupcakes, so I get them ready too and transfer them to piping bags. It is always better to have everything ready to go and the only thing you need to do is decorate your cupcakes. Pipe a little frosting on top of the cupcake and place it upside (frosting side) down on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Repeat this process alternating with the orange frosting and chocolate frosting too. Transfer the tray to freezer to cool the frosting down immediately. When you take them out of the freezer they should easily peel off the paper and you will have a flat surface to decorate on. You can keep it simple and pipe eyes on each cupcake with the melted chocolate. Or you could use the white cream cheese frosting with a flat nozzle to create a mummy looking cupcake with eyes piped on. I like using the dark chocolate to pipe jack o lantern faces on the orange frosted cupcakes. You could also use the dark chocolate to frosting the white frosted cupcakes like a nightmare before christmas characters. Melt down marshmallows or use marshmallow fluff and make create a spider web situation using your fingers to allow strands fall along the cupcakes. This is the time to get creative so have fun with it and they aren’t meant to be perfect since they are spooky and perfect for halloween.

How to store these cupcakes?

Once the are baked you can store the Chocolate cupcakes in the fridge for 4 days in an air tight container and in the freezer for upto 2 weeks. When ready to use, let them come to room temperature and then use as desired. The frosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for 2 days in an air tight container. If you are storing them longer, you can place them in the fridge for upto 1 week. Make a note that when you place the frosted cupcakes in the fridge, they will condense once they come to room temperature which could smudge the icing and over aesthetic of the cupcakes.

Looking for more spooky halloween treats?

Now that we have covered how to make these DIY Spooky Halloween Cupcakes, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.