I am obsessed with basically every holiday because it gives me an “excuse” to bake cute decorated treats. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because I’m surrounded by candy everywhere I go. The decorations are pretty fun too, I suppose. I love making cupcakes to share for Halloween because there are so many fun things you can do. Below are some of my most favorite and easy ways to decorate cupcakes for Halloween.
Webs and Ghosts!
Spiders are the most creepy little things on the face of the earth and that includes their filthy filthy spider web homes. However, they somehow became cute when I made them out of chocolate and placed them atop a chocolate cupcake with Butterfinger buttercream. Yes…Butterfinger! I made the spider webs by melting candy melts in the microwave at 30 second intervals until completely smooth. Then I put the melted candy into a piping bag suited with a Wilton #2 tip but a #1 would work just as well. Pipe the webs onto parchment paper and allow to completely harden, about 30 mins or so. Then place on top of the cupcakes!
The ghosts are even easier to make! Use your favorite white buttercream frosting (I used marshmallow fluff buttercream) and create three layers of swirls and use mini chocolate chips for the eyes. Boom. Done!
I had been noticing all of these beautiful fancy sprinkle combinations on instagram and knew I had to find some to buy! I stumbled upon these beauties which I purchased from Neon Yolk. I bought two different Halloween themed sprinkles and some others which you will see pop up on the blog at a later date. 🙂 I bought Monster Mash Sprinkle Mix and the Halloween Candy Sprinkle Mix. I highly suggest you check them out, their sprinkles are so cute! Sprinkle them atop your decorated cupcakes to bring them to the next level.
Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Be sure to always use room temperature butter. This is an important step because if it is cold it will end up a lumpy mess and ain’t nobody got time for that. I learned this the hard way. I also prefer to use salted butter as it cuts down the sweetness a bit but alternatively you could use unsalted and add a dash or two of salt to the mix.
Add the 4 sticks butter to the bowl of your favorite mixer. KitchenAids are my jam but lately I’ve been reaching for my handheld mixer as you can sometimes control the mixing a little better.
Beat the butter until it becomes a smooth consistency, this should only take a minute or so.
Slowly begin to add the confectioner’s sugar in batches. I like to do about a cup at a time. Make sure your mixer is off when you do this or you will have a face and counter full of white powder and that is not a good look for anyone. Add in batches until all sugar is incorporated and you have the desired consistency. You do not have to use the entire bag of CS. If you need a frosting that is more stiff, you can use all but if you want something a little more spreadable use about ¾ of the bag. I know that is vague but you’ll get a feel for what you prefer once you practice.
At this point it’s a good time to add your liquid to make it extra smooth. My go to is heavy whipping cream but you can use just about any milk product. If you are going to add juices, sauces, etc. to flavor the buttercream then I would add the HWC last as you may not even need it and you don't want a runny buttercream.
Time for the star of the show, the vanilla bean. To open the vanilla bean, simply cut it in half and use the back of the knife to scrape out the beany goodness inside. Then just add to your frosting and mix. If you are going to use this buttercream as a base for other flavors just omit the vanilla bean. This buttercream recipe is so versatile I use it all the time and play around by adding other fun flavors like caramel sauce, instant coffee, jams, oreos...you name it!
Ingredients
Directions
Be sure to always use room temperature butter. This is an important step because if it is cold it will end up a lumpy mess and ain’t nobody got time for that. I learned this the hard way. I also prefer to use salted butter as it cuts down the sweetness a bit but alternatively you could use unsalted and add a dash or two of salt to the mix.
Add the 4 sticks butter to the bowl of your favorite mixer. KitchenAids are my jam but lately I’ve been reaching for my handheld mixer as you can sometimes control the mixing a little better.
Beat the butter until it becomes a smooth consistency, this should only take a minute or so.
Slowly begin to add the confectioner’s sugar in batches. I like to do about a cup at a time. Make sure your mixer is off when you do this or you will have a face and counter full of white powder and that is not a good look for anyone. Add in batches until all sugar is incorporated and you have the desired consistency. You do not have to use the entire bag of CS. If you need a frosting that is more stiff, you can use all but if you want something a little more spreadable use about ¾ of the bag. I know that is vague but you’ll get a feel for what you prefer once you practice.
At this point it’s a good time to add your liquid to make it extra smooth. My go to is heavy whipping cream but you can use just about any milk product. If you are going to add juices, sauces, etc. to flavor the buttercream then I would add the HWC last as you may not even need it and you don't want a runny buttercream.
Time for the star of the show, the vanilla bean. To open the vanilla bean, simply cut it in half and use the back of the knife to scrape out the beany goodness inside. Then just add to your frosting and mix. If you are going to use this buttercream as a base for other flavors just omit the vanilla bean. This buttercream recipe is so versatile I use it all the time and play around by adding other fun flavors like caramel sauce, instant coffee, jams, oreos...you name it!
