Description
These Zombie Brain Halloween Cupcakes are a spooky and fun treat perfect for Halloween parties. Featuring a rich chocolate cupcake base topped with light and fluffy green buttercream frosting piped to resemble zombie brains and finished with red corn syrup ‘blood’ for a creepy effect, they are sure to be a hit with kids and adults alike. Easy to make with either homemade or boxed cake mix, they make a perfect centerpiece for your Halloween celebration.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcakes
- 1 box chocolate cake mix (or homemade equivalent)
- Ingredients as required on cake mix box (usually eggs, oil, and water)
Frosting
- Buttercream frosting (store-bought or homemade)
- Green food coloring (to achieve desired shade)
- Light corn syrup
- Red food coloring
- Green food coloring for corn syrup (optional)
Decoration Tools
- Wilton 7 round piping tip
- Coupler (for piping tip)
- Piping bag or ziplock bag with a corner cut
Instructions
- Prepare Cupcakes: Bake the chocolate cupcakes according to the cake mix instructions or your homemade recipe. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full so they bake with a flat top. Once baked, allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Make Green Buttercream: Prepare your buttercream frosting and add green food coloring gradually until you achieve your desired brain-like shade of green.
- Fill Piping Bag: Attach a Wilton 7 round tip and coupler to your piping bag or use a ziplock bag with a small corner cut. Fill the bag with the green buttercream frosting.
- Pipe Brain Frosting: Starting with a line down the center of each cupcake, pipe squiggly lines on each side to mimic the folds of a brain. Apply a second layer of piped frosting as needed to fill in gaps and create a full brain effect.
- Add Bloody Details: Mix a few drops of red food coloring into the light corn syrup to create a blood-like gel. Using a clean piping bag or ziplock bag, pipe random squiggles over the green frosting to resemble blood vessels and blood dripping on the brain.
- Arrange and Serve: Place your decorated zombie brain cupcakes on a festive cake plate or tray as a spooky Halloween centerpiece. Serve and enjoy your creepy treat!
Notes
- If you prefer quicker prep, boxed cake mix works great for the cupcakes.
- You can make your own buttercream from scratch using butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Light corn syrup with red food coloring creates a realistic blood effect but can be omitted if desired.
- Ensure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting to prevent melting the buttercream.
- Use gloves or wash hands frequently when working with red food coloring to avoid stains.
- Decorate cupcakes just before serving for best appearance and flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
