These festive Easy Halloween Cupcakes are the perfect way to celebrate spooky season with a fun and delicious treat. Easy to decorate and full of flavor, they’re guaranteed to be a hit at parties or family gatherings.
Jump to:
Coming up with fun and creative Halloween cupcake ideas is something I’ve been doing since high school. I think it was senior year when I made about 40 Halloween cupcakes to give out to my favorite teachers and the staff, and I had so much fun decorating them!
Why This Recipe Works:
Crowd-Pleasing: Kids and adults alike will love these themed cupcakes.
Easy: Simple steps make this recipe approachable for any skill level.
Festive: Fun decorations bring instant Halloween vibes to your dessert table.
Customizable: Use different frostings, colors, and toppers to make them unique.
For more fun Halloween treat ideas, check out my Monster Donuts, Halloween Popcorn Balls, Cauldron Cocktail, Halloween Oreos, and these spooky Spider Cookies.
What You Need for This Recipe
Cupcakes: For this recipe, you can use any type of cupcake you like! Use boxed cake mix if you need to make these quickly, or I highly recommend my pumpkin cupcakes, cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, white chocolate cupcakes, these Funfetti cupcakes (swap out the Birthday sprinkles for Halloween sprinkles!), or use my buttermilk chocolate cake recipe, but turn it into cupcakes!
Frosting: I use vanilla buttercream as the base for the orange and green frosting and dark chocolate buttercream as the base for my black frosting. I recommend using Orange, Green, and Black food gel coloring.
Decorations: I have three different Halloween Cupcakes to share with you! Graveyard Cupcakes, Frankenstein's Monster Cupcakes, and Bat Cupcakes. I use crushed Oreos for the dirt, white chocolate Reese's Ghosts, Reese's Pumpkins, Hershey's Chocolate Tombstones (or Milano Cookies), Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups for the Bats, Miniature Kit Kats for the Frankenstein's Monsters, and Candy Eyes.
Equipment: Wilton Piping Tips: #104 petal tip, #3 writing tip, #223 grass tip, #4B Open Star Tip, and Wilton #2A Round Tip, Piping Bags, and Toothpicks.
Other Halloween Cupcake Ideas:
- Vampire Cupcakes: Use my cream-filled cupcake recipe, but dye the cream red. Decorate with fake vampire teeth, or pipe on a Dracula or fangs with white, black, and red frosting.
- Halloween Spider Cupcakes: Similar to my Spiderweb Brownies, decorate with any color frosting, then use black or white frosting to pipe a web, and then add a plastic spider on top.
- Monster Cupcakes: Frost Cupcakes with Green and Purple Frosting, add fun sprinkles and candy eyes.
- Jack-O-Lantern Cupcakes: Frost cupcakes with orange frosting and use a #104 to make pumpkin lines, use black frosting and a #3 tip to make eyes, nose, and mouth, and some green frosting as a stem.
How To Make Halloween Cupcakes
- Step 1: Bake a batch of your favorite cupcakes.
- Step 2: Make dark chocolate buttercream and dye black.
- Step 3: Make vanilla buttercream, divide and dye orange and green.
Graveyard Cupcakes
- Step 4: Frost Cupcakes with Green Frosting using the #223 grass piping tip. Top frosting with a mound of crushed Oreos.
- Step 5: Add details to the pumpkin and ghost Resees. Then, using a toothpick stuck in the bottom of the candy, place the ghost or pumpkin into the crushed Oreo mound.
Save this for later!
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Don't worry, I promise not to spam you!
- Step 6: Or place a Tombstone candy in the crushed Oreo mound.
Frankenstein's Monster Cupcakes
- Step 7: Frost Cupcakes with Orange and Black Frosting.
- Step 8: Place a KitKat Miniature upside down into the center of the cupcake.
- Step 9: Frost the KitKat with green frosting using the #104 petal tip. Add hair and scar details with the #3 writing tip, and press in a candy eye.
Bat Cupcakes
- Step 10: Frost Cupcakes with Orange and Black Frosting.
- Step 11: Place a Reese Mini in the center of the cupcake, then two halves of a Resses Mini on either side to form wings. Then affix two candy eyes with a bit of frosting.
Frequently Asked Questions
To color frosting, use food gel coloring, not liquid food coloring. Liquid food coloring is less concentrated, so you’ll typically need more of it, which can affect the consistency of your frosting.
Yes! These would be delicious with my brown sugar buttercream, whipped cream cheese frosting, or caramel frosting. Just color each with food gel coloring!
After the cupcakes are decorated, store them in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If you are serving the same day as decorating, I like to place cupcakes on a rimmed baking sheet in the fridge- no need to cover.
More Hauntingly Fun Recipes
I have so many Easy Halloween Recipes that I love to make- from Black Cat Cookies, to a fun, sparkly Witches Brew, and accompanying Witches Fingers! Make sure to check them out and let me know your favorites!
Video
Easy Halloween Cupcakes
Equipment
- Wilton Piping Tips: #104 petal tip, #3 writing tip, Wilton #223 grass tip and Wilton #4B Open Star Tip and a Wilton #2A Round Tip for frosting the cupcakes
- Piping Bags
- toothpicks
Ingredients
- 24 Cupcakes* See notes for my favorite cupcakes to use!
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting- dyed orange and green
- 1 cup butter softened to room temperature
- 5-7 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbs vanilla
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- Pinch salt
- Orange food gel coloring
- Green food gel coloring
Black Buttercream Frosting (this is a half batch of frosting)
- ½ cup butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
- ¼ cup dark cocoa powder I used Hershey’s Special Dark
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3-5 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tbs heavy cream
- Pinch salt
- Black food gel coloring
Graveyard Cupcakes
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Ghosts
- Hershey’s Chocolate Tombstones or Milano Cookies
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins
- Black Buttercream
- Orange Buttercream
- Green Buttercream
- Crushed Oreos
Frankenstein Cupcakes
- Black Buttercream
- Orange Buttercream
- KitKat Miniatures
- Green Buttercream
- Candy Eyes
Bat Cupcakes
- Orange Buttercream
- Black Buttercream
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures
- Candy Eyes
Instructions
- Bake any cupcake recipe you want to use and allow them to cool fully before decorating. See notes for my favorite cupcake recipes.24 Cupcakes*
How to make orange and green buttercream:
- In a mixer, whip the butter until it is fluffy. Add in the vanilla and salt, and mix until well combined.1 cup butter, 1 tbs vanilla, Pinch salt
- Add in powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream, alternating between the two. I like to add 1 cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, let it combine, and then add the next round of powdered sugar and heavy cream.¾ cup heavy cream, 5-7 cups powdered sugar
- Once all the ingredients are added, mix on high for 20-30 seconds. Then divide the frosting in half and add the orange food gel to one half and the green food gel to the other. Mix the colors until they are fully incorporated.Orange food gel coloring, Green food gel coloring
How to make black buttercream:
- In a mixer, whip the butter until it is fluffy. Add in the espresso powder, dark cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt, and mix until combined.½ cup butter, ¼ cup dark cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon vanilla, Pinch salt, ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
- Add in powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream. Alternating between the two. I like to add 1 cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, let it combine, and then add the next round of powdered sugar and cream.3-5 cups powdered sugar, 6 tbs heavy cream
- Once all the ingredients are added, mix on high for 20-30 seconds. Then add the black food gel and mix on medium-low speed until fully incorporated. Frosting will appear grey at first but will darken to black over time.Black food gel coloring
Graveyard Cupcakes
- Using a Wilton #3 writing tip and black or orange frosting, pipe on faces for the ghosts (using black frosting), and faces or lines for the pumpkins (using orange frosting). Allow faces to set up (sticking in the refrigerator for 5 minutes works great).Reese’s Peanut Butter Ghosts, Hershey’s Chocolate Tombstones or Milano Cookies, Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins, Black Buttercream, Orange Buttercream
- Using a Wilton Tip #223, pipe green grass onto a cupcake, then add a mound of crushed Oreos on top.Green Buttercream, Crushed Oreos
- Press in the Tombstone at the top of the crushed Oreo. Stick a toothpick halfway into the bottom of the decorated Reese’s Ghosts and Pumpkins. Then press the other half of the toothpick with the candy affixed into the cupcake.
Bat Cupcakes
- Frost a cupcake with black or orange frosting. I used Wilton #4B and #2A Tips.Black Buttercream, Orange Buttercream
- Press a Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cup onto a frosted cupcake. Slice a Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cup in half and place a half on either side of the whole one to create wings. Add a little bit of frosting to the back of the candy eyes and put them on the uncut Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cup.Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures, Candy Eyes
Frankenstein's Monster Cupcakes
- Frost a cupcake with black or orange frosting. I used Wilton #4B and #2A Tips.Orange Buttercream, Black Buttercream
- Press Kit Kats upside down into a frosted cupcake. Using a Wilton #104 petal tip for the green buttercream, cover the Kit Kat in a thin layer of frosting. Gently press on the candy eyes, then use a Wilton #3 writing tip and black buttercream to add hair and scars.KitKat Miniatures, Green Buttercream, Candy Eyes
Notes
- Cupcakes: For this recipe, you can use any type of cupcake you like! Use boxed cake mix if you need to make these quick, or I highly recommend my pumpkin cupcakes, cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, white chocolate cupcakes, or these Funfetti cupcakes (swap out the Birthday sprinkles for Halloween sprinkles!)
- Nutrition calculation is just an estimate of a cupcake with frosting. The actual nutrition breakdown will vary depending on the type of cupcake, the type of frosting (and its amount), and the type of candy used for decoration.
Leave a Reply