Halloween Zombie Cupcakes
Halloween Cupcakes don’t have to be hard! Grab a box mix and a disposable piping bag, and you’re well on your way to these spooky and delicious zombie brain cupcakes.
Zombie Halloween Cupcakes are Perfect for Spooky Season!
While most of my Halloween desserts err on the side of cute, not creepy, the holiday IS all about being at least a little frightened, right?
These easy Halloween cupcakes are just the right amount of ick, and definitely the best amount of yum. While they look admittedly kind of gross, once the first party-goer tries one, they’ll spread the word to everybody else about how tasty they are.
Because at their core, these are simply strawberry cupcakes topped with buttercream and drizzled with strawberry syrup.
So preheat your oven, we’ve got brain cupcakes to make!
Why You Will Love These Easy Halloween Cupcakes
- Because, well, they’re easy! We’re using boxed cake mix, store-bought strawberry syrup for the “blood,” and the piping is a lot easier than it looks, trust me.
- They’re kind of spooky, but the strawberry flavor will be enticing to both kids and adults.
- Short list of ingredients!
Ingredients for Zombie Halloween Themed Cupcakes
- cupcakes – It’s funny to say you need cupcakes to make cupcakes, but you do. This Halloween cupcake idea is really all about the frosting decoration, so I start by baking a box of strawberry cake mix to make 24 cupcakes. You can also make homemade strawberry cupcakes, or use any other flavor of cupcake you want. Chocolate cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes also welcome. Heck, you could even do pumpkin cupcakes!
- butter – you will need 2 sticks of unsalted butter for the base of your strawberry buttercream frosting for these treats.
- powdered sugar – the traditional sweetener for buttercream frosting.
- strawberry jam – this adds strawberry flavor and a brain-like pink hue to the frosting for these Halloween cupcakes.
- vanilla extract – this enhances the sweetness of the frosting for these zombie cupcakes. For a less sweet frosting, you can omit the extract if you’d like.
- salt – my frostings always include a pinch of salt for balance.
- strawberry syrup – you’ll be using this as the “blood” to drizzle over the decorated cupcakes. I used Hershey’s brand strawberry syrup, which is found with the chocolate syrup at the store, usually near the ice cream!
How to Make Zombie Halloween Cupcakes
1. BAKE. Use the boxed cake mix to prepare 24 cupcakes in cupcake liners according to package instructions. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before even attempting to decorate them.
2. BEAT. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer with the beater attachments, cream the butter until fluffy and smooth. Add the strawberry jam and mix until incorporated.
3. ADD. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until all the sugar is incorporated, then add the vanilla and salt and beat until the mixture is smooth.
4. FROST. Using an offset spatula or knife, frost the top of each cupcake thinly with the prepared strawberry buttercream. This does not have to be perfect since this is just the base for the zombie brain frosting work you will do next.
5. PIPE. Place the remaining buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a small round frosting tip. Pipe a line with a curve on the end (almost like an L shape) down the center of each cupcake. Then, pipe swirls and squiggles connecting from the end of that curve until you have covered the entire cupcake half. Repeat on the the other side.
6. DRIZZLE. Place the cupcakes on a rimmed serving tray and drizzle lightly with strawberry syrup right before serving.
Home Chef Tips for Zombie Cupcakes
- You will need a trusty piping bag for decorating. Personally, I HATE washing piping bags, so I use disposable piping bags [affiliate link], but this is up to you.
- When preparing your piping bag, trim about 1/2 inch of the tip of the piping bag off, then place your small round piping tip into the bag. It will fall into the hole you trimmed.
- To make filling the piping bag easier, place your piping bag into a tall cup, with the edges folded over. Then scoop your buttercream in with a spatula.
- Once all the buttercream is in the piping bag, remove the bag from the cup, fold up the sides and twist until the frosting comes out of the piping tip. This reduces the mess and makes it easier for you!
Can These Easy Halloween Cupcakes be Made in Advance?
The frosted Halloween cupcakes will keep for 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. I recommend drizzling the strawberry syrup / “blood” on the zombie cupcakes just before serving.
How to Serve Halloween Themed Cupcakes
My favorite way to serve these Halloween Cupcakes is on a white platter so that you can drizzle lots of extra strawberry syrup around the cupcakes to look like blood.
Feel free to add more creepy decorations like plastic spiders, tombstones, or skeleton bones!
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Halloween Cupcakes Recipe Storage
Any leftover cupcakes be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How do you keep cupcakes moist?
Make sure your storage container is airtight, and bring the cupcakes to room temperature before serving for the best flavor and texture.
FAQs for Halloween Brain Cupcakes
While I’ve used a buttercream frosting with strawberry jam for flavor here, you can also use cream cheese frosting if you prefer.
If you don’t have a piping bag and frosting tip, simply use a Ziploc bag with a tiny bit of the corner cut off as a makeshift piping bag. You can also simply spread the cupcakes with frosting with a knife and then use a toothpick to make brain designs.
Be sure to transfer your baked Halloween cupcakes to an airtight container as soon as they are cooled to keep them moist. If you can tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, that’s even better!
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Halloween Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box strawberry cake mix, plus oil, water and eggs necessary to prepare the cupcakes (15.25 ounces)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup)
- ½ cup strawberry jam
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
- ¼ cup strawberry syrup for drizzling
Instructions
- Use cake mix to prepare 24 cupcakes according to package instructions. Let cool completely before decorating.
- Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until fluffy and smooth. Add strawberry jam and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated.
- While beating on medium-low speed, add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until all powdered sugar is incorporated.
- Add vanilla and salt and mix on medium speed until incorporated and smooth.
- Using offset spatula, frost top of each cupcake thinly with prepared strawberry buttercream. This does not have to be perfect since this is just the base for the zombie brain frosting work you will do next.
- Place remaining buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a small round frosting tip.
- Pipe a line with a curve on the end (almost like an L shape) down the center of each cupcake. Then, pipe swirls and squiggles connecting from the end of that curve until you have covered the entire cupcake half. Repeat on the other side.
- Place cupcakes on rimmed serving tray and drizzle lightly with strawberry syrup.
- The frosted cupcakes will keep for 3 days in an airtight container. I recommend drizzling the strawberry syrup / "blood" on just before serving.
