Description
Bake adorable Halloween Ghost Cupcakes! This easy recipe brings spooky fun to your kitchen with fluffy cupcakes and whimsical ghost frosting.
Ingredients
Scale
- Cupcake Base:
- 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- Spooky Frosting:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 4–5 cups (480-600g) powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Ghostly Decorations:
- 24 mini chocolate chips (for eyes)
- Optional Extras:
- Edible googly eyes (for extra fun)
- A drop of orange or green food coloring for festive frosting accents
Instructions
- Prep Your Oven & Dry Ingredients: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Give it a good whisk until everything is combined. I always imagine I’m mixing up a little bit of magic potion here, honestly. This step is pretty straightforward, but making sure it’s all evenly distributed helps avoid those weird pockets of unmixed ingredients later on. You want a consistent, fluffy base for your Halloween Ghost Cupcakes.
- Cream the Wet Ingredients: In a separate, larger bowl, or your stand mixer, cream together the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar until it’s light and fluffy. This usually takes a good 2-3 minutes. Then, beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Don’t rush this part! I once got impatient and added all the eggs at once, and the mixture looked a bit curdled. Oops! It still baked up okay, but it wasn’t as smooth.
- Combine and Alternate: Now for the main event! Gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. Start and end with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined – overmixing is the enemy of tender cupcakes, I’ve learned that the hard way. The batter should look smooth and creamy, smelling faintly of vanilla and sweet goodness. This is where the magic really starts to happen for these Halloween Ghost Cupcakes!
- Bake Those Beauties: Fill each cupcake liner about two-thirds full with batter. Pop them into your preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 18-22 minutes. Keep an eye on them! A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. My kitchen always smells incredible at this point, like a warm, sugary cloud. Let them cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Patience is a virtue here, trust me.
- Whip Up the Ghostly Frosting: While your cupcakes are cooling, let’s make that dreamy frosting. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, a little at a time, mixing until smooth. Then, pour in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat on high until the frosting is light, fluffy, and holds stiff peaks. This is the fun part where your frosting transforms into something wonderfully pipeable. If it feels too thick, a tiny splash more cream can fix it; too thin, more powdered sugar! My first attempt was so runny, my ghosts looked like they were having a bad day.
- Decorate Your Halloween Ghost Cupcakes: Once the cupcakes are completely cool, transfer your frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (or just snip the corner off a Ziploc bag, I do it all the time!). Pipe a tall swirl of frosting onto each cupcake, pulling up at the top to create a ghost shape. Then, carefully place two mini chocolate chips for eyes. Honestly, watching them come to life is just the sweetest thing. They’ll look spooky and adorable, ready for their Halloween debut!