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Monster Cupcakes

Monster Cupcakes are fluffy chocolate cupcakes topped with swirls of tinted buttercream and playful candy decorations. This easy bake-and-decorate method makes kid-friendly Halloween monster cupcakes with crunchy candy eyes and candy fangs.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 1.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 cup buttermilk
  • 0.5 cup hot water
Monster Buttercream
  • 1.5 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 gel food coloring green, purple, and blue (gel varieties)
Decorations
  • 24 candy eyeballs
  • 1 rainbow sprinkles
  • 1 white candy melts for fangs
  • 1 mini chocolate chips for spots

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Bake the chocolate cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
  2. Whisk together all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat granulated sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
  4. Add buttermilk and mix well until the batter looks smooth and thick.
  5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
  6. Stir in hot water until the batter is smooth and glossy.
  7. Divide batter among the cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full.
  8. Bake at 350°F for 18–20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
Tint and pipe the monster buttercream
  1. Beat unsalted butter until fluffy.
  2. Gradually add powdered sugar, then beat until it looks like thick, pale frosting.
  3. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract, then beat until smooth.
  4. Divide the frosting into bowls and tint each portion with green, purple, and blue gel food coloring.
  5. Pipe swirls of the tinted buttercream onto each cooled cupcake.
Decorate with candy monster details
  1. Add candy eyeballs to each cupcake while the frosting is still fresh.
  2. Sprinkle on rainbow sprinkles for extra color and texture.
  3. Add white candy melts shaped like fangs on top of the frosting.
  4. Finish by placing mini chocolate chips as spots on each cupcake.

Notes

For the cleanest frosting swirls, make sure the cupcakes are fully cool before piping. Store cupcakes covered in the fridge up to 3 days; freeze undecorated cupcakes up to 2 months and thaw before decorating. For a gluten-free swap, use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend in place of the flour.