Ghost cupcakes are sweet vanilla cupcakes piled high with a light and fluffy pumpkin spice frosting. Add some decorations and now you now have cute ghost faces. Perfect for any spooky or ghostly celebrations all year long.
Halloween will be here before we know it. Fall is always filled with Fall festivals and Halloween parties. One of my favorite things about fall is all the fun food that we get to make. I love making fun Halloween treats, especially cupcakes!
Ghost cupcakes are easy to make and you don't need much time to decorate them either. I kept these ghosts simple so even the little ones can get into the kitchen and make their own ghost face cupcakes.
And, I flavored the frosting lightly with pumpkin spice flavor so that I could enjoy the fall pumpkin spice flavors that they have.
These ghost frosting cupcakes would make a wonderful treat to bring to kids Halloween parties. Kids always love to make a festive treat when it involves fun faces like these. Even the little ones can easily follow my easy tutorial and get their own ghost cupcake face ready for Halloween!
I hope you all have a spooktacular Halloween this year! Be sure to leave me a comment below letting me know what your favorite fall treat is.
How to store these Ghost frosting cupcakes
These ghosts frosting cupcakes can be stored in the fridge for a few days, or you can freeze them. I store my ghost cupcakes for no longer than four days, after three days they tend to start to dry out.
Can I freeze Halloween ghost cupcakes
I have found that you can freeze these ghost frosting cupcakes, as long as you pack them in an airtight container. I use a heavy duty freezer bag and squeeze all the air out before sealing it up tight.
Freeze the cupcakes for no longer than 2 months. To thaw, allow to warm up on the counter for about an hour, or place in the fridge overnight to thaw slowly.
Where do I get spider web liners for Ghost cupcakes
I snagged these fun and festive spider web liners on Amazon. If you are interested in grabbing some like mine, you can find them on Amazon like I did. Or, you may also get lucky and find some of these spider web liners at your local craft supply store.
Can I use box cake mix instead of homemade
I have had readers write in and ask me if it is okay to use box cake mixes instead of my homemade cake mix. Of course, you can! I used a homemade white cake mix on these ghost frosting cupcakes.
However, for those busy weeks I like to keep a box white or vanilla cake mix on hand in case I don't want to make a homemade cake mix.
What should I use for the face on these cupcakes
To make the faces on these ghost cupcakes, I use small candy eyes, and dark chocolate chips. If you want to change up your face, feel free to get creative in the kitchen and make your best ghost face with other ingredients.
How do I get full cupcakes
If you are having issues with your cupcakes not being super full like mine, I recommend that you fill the liners almost all the way to the top. That way when you put them in the oven they will rise and overflow a bit. I always fill my liners a little over ¾ the way full.
What supplies do I need for these cupcakes
- Piping bag, or resealable bag
- Dark chocolate chips (1 per cupcake)
- Candy Eyes (2 per cupcake)
- Cobweb Cupcake wrappers (Optional)
Ingredients for Ghost Cupcakes
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon vanilla
Frosting Ingredients
- 1 - ½ cups softened butter
- 2 cups vegetable shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon extremely hot water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
How to make Ghost Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Fill a regular sized cupcake tin with plain white cupcake liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, add in all of the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Pour the vanilla into the hot water.
Add the oil, milk, and eggs and water/vanilla mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is combined.
Use a measuring cup or spoon to scoop batter into each of the lined cupcake cavities. Only fill each cavity approx. ½ - ⅔ the way full.
Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Check to see if they are cooked all the way through by inserting a toothpick into one of the cupcakes, if the toothpick pulls out without any raw batter (a few crumbs are OK) then the cakes are done.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling you can make the spiced vanilla frosting.
How to Make Spiced Vanilla Frosting
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter and vegetable shortening until light and fluffy.
While the butter is whipping, add the pumpkin spice, vanilla, and salt to the extremely hot water. Let this sit for 2-3 minutes.
When butter has been whipped, add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed. While it is mixing, stream in the water mixture.
Once combined, mix in the remaining powdered sugar, and whip until all is combined and light and fluffy.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip. Or you can use a zip top bag and snip off one of the bottom corners.
If the frosting is too soft to pipe, put in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to cool down.
Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe the frosting onto each cupcake as seen in pictures.
Place one of the chocolate chips, pointy side in - flat side out, onto the frosting where you want the mouth of the ghost to be. Then place the eyes above the mouth. Point the eyes in various directions to get different personalities!
Set finished cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting set up.
Tips:
- Frosting will be soft when first made, but will set up while in fridge.
- Fill cupcakes a little over ¾ full for nice large cupcakes.
These sweet cupcakes are perfect for any level baker, they are simple for even the most beginner of bakers! A moist homemade vanilla cake gets topped with a lightly spiced vanilla frosting in these ghoulish treats! This recipe is great for events or large groups, but can be easily cut in half for smaller occasions! Let me know how these cupcakes turned out for you in the comments below! Happy Halloween!
More Festive Halloween Recipes
Ghost Cupcakes
Equipment
- 12 or 24 hole pan
- Stand Mixer or hand mixer
- large round piping tip or large resealable bag with corner cut off
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon vanilla
Frosting
- 1 ½ cups softened butter
- 2 cups vegetable shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon extremely hot water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Decorations
- Piping bag or resealable bag
- Dark chocolate chips 1 per cupcake
- Candy Eyes 2 per cupcake
- Cobweb Cupcake wrappers Optional
Instructions
- Get out and measure all of your ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Fill a regular sized cupcake tin with plain white cupcake liners, set aside.
- In a large bowl, add in all of the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Pour the vanilla into the hot water.
- Add the oil, milk, and eggs and water/vanilla mixture to the dry ingredients.
- Mix until everything is combined.
- Use a measuring cup or spoon to scoop batter into each of the lined cupcake cavities. Only fill each cavity approximately ½ - ⅔ the way full.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Check to see if they are cooked all the way through by inserting a toothpick into one of the cupcakes, if the toothpick pulls out without any raw batter (a few crumbs are OK) then the cakes are done.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
- While the cupcakes are cooling you can make the spiced vanilla frosting.
Spiced Vanilla Frosting
- Get out and measure your ingredients.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter and vegetable shortening until light and fluffy.
- While the butter is whipping, add the pumpkin spice, vanilla, and salt to the extremely hot water. Let this sit for 2-3 minutes.
- When butter has been whipped, add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed.
- While it is mixing, stream in the water mixture.
- Once combined, mix in the remaining powdered sugar.
- Whip until all is combined and light and fluffy.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip. Or you can use a resealable bag and snip off one of the bottom corners.
- If the frosting is too soft to pipe, put in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to cool down.
- Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe the frosting onto each cupcake as seen in pictures.
- Place one of the chocolate chips, pointy side in - flat side out, onto the frosting where you want the mouth of the ghost to be.
- Then place the eyes above the mouth. Point the eyes in various directions to get different personalities!
- Set finished cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting set up.
- Optional, add a fun cobweb cupcake sleeve for a cute finishing touch!
- Serve or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days inside your fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
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