Monster Cupcakes
Deliciously moist chocolate cupcakes decorated to look like monsters with vanilla buttercream and googly eye sprinkles. The perfect easy Halloween cupcakes!
Servings 14 cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 Cup (132g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup (150g) white granulated sugar
- 1/3 Cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder Natural or Dutch-processed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 Cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) buttermilk, room temperature*
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) hot coffee* or hot water
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, or to taste
- food color gels of your choice (I used AmeriColor Regal Purple, Orange, Sky Blue, and Deep Pink)
Additional Supplies
- Piping tips (I used Wilton Tip 32, 4B, 233, and 12)
- Piping bags
- Colorful googly eye sprinkles
- White googly eye sprinkles
Instructions
Make The Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with two more liners—this recipe makes about 14 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl to fully combine them. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix on low with either a hand mixer, the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, or by hand until combined. Add the hot coffee (or hot water) in a slow stream. Continue mixing on low until fully combined and smooth, 1-2 minutes. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners (no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Make The Vanilla Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and nearly white in color, about 7 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar in two additions, mixing on low speed until fully incorporated and scraping down the bowl and paddle in between. Add the vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on low for another 1-2 minutes until fully incorporated.
- Color the Buttercream: Divide the buttercream into separate bowls, one for each color you plan on making. Then, use food color gels to tint each bowl of buttercream to your liking. For the cupcakes pictured, I used AmeriColor Regal Purple, Orange, Sky Blue, and Deep Pink.
Decorate the Monster Cupcakes
- Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly before decorating. Fit the piping bags with the piping tips of your choice, then fill each bag with the colored buttercream. Pipe your desired textured onto each cupcake, topping with googly eye sprinkles as you go. See the tutorial in the blog post above for piping and googly eye placement inspiration. Repeat the decorating process until every cupcake is a monster!
Notes
*DIY Buttermilk Recipe: add 1 1/2 tsp of white vinegar to a jar and top it with whole milk until you measure 1/2 cup (120ml total). Stir and let sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe.
*Hot Coffee will not add any coffee flavor to the cupcakes, but it does help amplify the chocolate flavor better than hot water.
Piping Tips Used: Wilton Tip 32, 4B, 233, and 12
Food Colors Used: AmeriColor Regal Purple, Orange, Sky Blue, and Deep Pink.
Make Ahead Tips:
- The chocolate cupcakes can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, they can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
- The vanilla buttercream recipe can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your stand mixer on low speed to bring it back to frosting consistency.