Are you ready to sweeten up the scariest night of the year? Then look no further than these festive Halloween cupcakes starring dense and fudgy chocolate cake paired with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
To ensure these Halloween cupcakes steal the spooky spotlight, they’re decked out to resemble pumpkins, complete with pretzel stems and candy vines. Dessert and tabletop décor? Double the win! And now they can join the ranks of their fellow fun and festive sweets, including Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops, Cheesy Breadstick Bones, Halloween Candy Bark and my favorite Blood Red Velvet Pudding with Meringue Bones.
If you love the look of these pumpkin-inspired cupcakes but aren’t a chocoholic like myself, simply swap in my go-to recipe for vanilla bean cupcakes. You can keep the cream cheese frosting or whip up a batch of my silky smooth buttercream frosting instead. So many variations to mix and match!
Preheat your oven for Chocolate Halloween Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and don’t forget to share your culinary creations with me on Instagram by using the hashtag #justatasterecipes for a chance to be featured!
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Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 12 Tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the frosting and decorations:
- Green candy melts
- Green sprinkles
- Pretzel rods
- 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Orange food coloring
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tins with liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition, then add the vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and sour cream.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Alternately add the buttermilk mixture and flour mixture to the stand mixer in three increments each, beating between each addition. (Do not overmix the batter.)
- Fill the cupcake tins about 2/3 full then bake the cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer them to a rack to cool completely while you make the frosting and decorations.
Make the frosting and decorations:
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
- Melt the candy melts according to the package instructions then pipe vines onto the lined baking sheet. Immediately top the vines with the green sprinkles then set them aside to cool until they’ve hardened fully.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and continue beating until combined. Add the vanilla extract and 1 to 2 teaspoons of orange food coloring and beat just until combined and the frosting is your desired color of orange. Refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes to make it easier to pipe.
- Break or cut the edges off the pretzel rods to form 1-inch pieces then insert them into the side of each cupcake to form the pumpkin stems. Pipe or slather the frosting onto the cupcakes, and then using an offset spatula, release the candy melt vines from the wax paper and press them into the tops of the cupcakes so they are coming out from the pretzel stems.
- Serve the cupcakes immediately or store them in the fridge until ready to serve.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Chocolate cupcake recipe adapted from Ina Garten. Frosting and decoration recipes by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste.
Hi Kelly!
I know you may or may not be able to answer this but is there a brand name you use for cocoa powder?
Hi Judy! I have used everything from Hershey to Ghirardelli. Can’t go wrong with either!
How many cupcakes does this yield?
Hi Laura! This recipe yields 24 cupcakes.
WOW — These cupcakes look and sound fabulous! Furthermore, they must really be moist with the addition of both sour cream and buttermilk in the list of ingredients. I am definitely going to have to make these for our community’s Halloween party. I’m sure they’ll be a big hit.
I hope you enjoy the recipe, Valerie!
Is it ok to substitute full fat milk instead of butter milk? Thank you
You’ll need some sort of acidity, which buttermilk contains but regular milk does not contain.
Not only are the cupcakes delicious, they’re also easy to assemble. The perfect treat for fall festivals, too.
Thanks so much for rating the recipe, Jacki!
If you don’t have a stand mixer, can you just use hand mixers?
That should work! Just be careful not to overmix the frosting or it will become too runny.
Hello! Can I substitute the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt? Thank you.
Hi there! I haven’t tried that substitution in this recipe so I can’t say with certainty that it will work, however, my initial thought is that it should. Also, use full-fat Greek yogurt and drain off any water before measuring the yogurt and adding it to the mixture. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Hi! What size tips did you use for piping?
Hi Hannah – The piping tip I used was an Ateco #806!
Have Wilton tips. Which two would work best for piping the frosting and the vines? Thanks! Making them today!
Hi there! I’d recommend Wilton Tip 12 for the frosting and Wilton Tip 5 for the vines.
Perfect to share during the spookiest night :-)