Halloween Cupcakes

This was definitely the highlight of our Halloween party- funny decorated cupcakes! I'm going to apologize up front though... I totally ran out of time that day and didn't have time to take pictures of each type I made, and then they got pounced on by the kids, so some only have partial shots. For example, the Dracula ones were too cute with these funny gummy teeth I found, but the kids snatched those right up, so no close up.

I got a bunch of hilarious candies from Le Roux, a local specialty kitchen store here in Portland. I'm not allowed in there often because their stuff is SOOO nice... and expensive. I got a "witches brew" mix with gummy worms, frog, and spider. There were gummy vampire teeth and then a small container of candy corn. With some different colored frostings and these tools, I made a whole assortment of chocolate and vanilla cakes that looked great on the tiered tray- with some fake severed fingers mixed in!

So first the basics... the chocolate cake was half of the infamous Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake. It can be found somewhere on my blog and on the Hershey's site.

I was desperate for a moist vanilla recipe, didn't really find a tried and true one, and resorted to my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook. I have to say, the Starlight White Cake actually was pretty good. I might try adding a 1/2 C. of applesauce next time to jack up the moist factor, but the flavor was nice. I've been updating the blog for literally over 3 hours now, so I don't want to type it out tonight. You can find it here and just know that I cut it in half, but used a full 2 eggs.

For frosting, I used a basic buttercream, making half of it vanilla (white), a quarter mint (green), and a quarter almond (orange). I only used the mint on the chocolate cakes.

Now for the good stuff... the fun decorations!


You can see the Dracula on the top tier- he's my second favorite. There are also a couple of orange jack-o-lanterns and the severed fingers and gummy worms. You can't really see the web ones or the white ghosts/ skeletons.


These were kind of dull, though tasty. I made 2 with random candy corn decorations. I figured not everyone wanted something gory or horrific!


I see you! A little chocolate vein action, a swirl of blue frosting, and a chocolate chip pupil make for a creepy cake. I can't claim this as an original though- I've seen these eyeballs a few places, including other blogs!


I also go this mummy idea from somewhere online. One of my guests almost broke a tooth on the "eyeball" though- everyone thought they were gumballs. Nope- jaw breakers! These were the biggest pain since I had to load up the frosting bag, but the effect was great.


Nightcrawlers, ew! With a little crumbled graham cracker and some strategically placed gummy worms, these cupcakes also had some of that gross out factor. The extra gummies looked great hanging off of various dishes on the table too!


And this was my favorite. I only had one little frog, and I thought what better way to honor him at the party than to feature him squashed by a car on the side of the road! Gruesome? Oh yes. Totally funny? I sure think so!