Red Velvet Cupcakes + Monster = Instant spooky!
Want to scare and impress your family and friends? Then these spooky red velvet monster cupcakes are just the thing you need to make! Perfectly moist, deliciously red, and terrifying. I adore making red velvet cupcakes whenever I can, and these definitely do not disappoint. At some point soon, I will add my regular recipe for red velvet cupcakes (watch this space), however not much has changed between the two. The major difference comes from the decorating. With my standard cupcakes, I use a delicious cream cheese frosting with extra cupcake crumbs for topping. But with my spooky red velvet monster cupcakes, this frosting turns black with the addition of good quality food gel.
Monster cupcakes need monster eyes!
Another fantastic addition to my spooky red velvet monster cupcakes is the scary sugar-eyes that I add on top of the black frosting. You can get creative with this because you can add as many or as few as you want. Do you want just one big eye on top? Go for it! Want lots of little eyes glaring at your guests from every angle? That is also doable! Personally, for me, I like having small sugar eyes on top of my monster cakes, between 4 – 6. However, if I use smaller eyes, I would add about 8 – 10. Nothing says spooky like lots of little tiny eyes looking at you!
Equipment I use for my Red Velvet Cupcakes
The essential piece of equipment I use for making these spooky treats are piping bags! These are a must-have in any kitchen. However, you can also use a sandwich bag and cut the corner out. Will also work, so long as you don’t push too hard! As for the type of piping bag, I actually prefer using the “one use” ones. Who wants to mess around with cleaning piping bags? Not me! Of course, if you have an easy way of cleaning nylon style bags, go for it! You are the creator of your frosting adventure. For the piping tip, I use a medium star-tip, as I find this creates the easiest topping (plus it’s pretty)!
A stand mixer (or medium bowl and hand-mixer/whisk), and a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowls also helps. As always, my trusty ice cream scoop that I use for everything helps a lot!
Other sweet recipes
Looking to try other delicious sweet recipes? Try out these tasty treats!
Ingredients
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For cupcakes
- For the frosting
Instructions
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For the red velvet cupcakes
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Preheat the oven to 180°c and pre-line cupcake/muffin tray with liners. Spray with some baking spray, and set to the side.
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In a stand mixer or medium-sized bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until fully combined.
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In a small bowl, add 1 tsp of food colouring/gel with 1 tsp of vanilla, and with a small fork or small whisk, whisk until you create a small paste. I found this to help greatly to help combine into the wet batter. Add the red food colouring paste to the batter and mix until everything is fully mixed well.
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Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder at a time, mixing in after each time. Scrape down the sides if necessary.
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Add ¼ cup of buttermilk and mix until just combined. Add half of the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Repeat this process until everything is just mixed together. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and vinegar into the batter, and whisk until everything is combined.
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With your ice cream scoop (or cookie scoop), add ¾ scoops into each cupcake liner (they should not be filled right to the top!). Bake the cupcakes for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Note: mine always take about 22 ½ minutes!
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Once baked, transfer the cupcakes onto a cooling rack until fully cooled. This is important, otherwise, the frosting will run off them! DON’T FROST WHEN STILL WARM!
For the cream cheese frosting
- Add the butter and powder sugar into the mixing bowl/medium bowl, and whisk until light and creamy and fully combined.
- Add the cream cheese and vanilla extract, and beat until everything is combined and creamy. Add half a teaspoon of black food colouring, and beat again. If you need it darker, add the second half of the colouring. Scrape down sides if needed. (I only need half of mine!)
- Put the frosting into a piping bag with a small star piping tip. Decorate the cupcakes with the frosting.
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Place the eyes wherever you like on top of the frosting.
