Ghoulish Ghost Cupcakes

I love making fun cupcakes that are easy for the kids to help make. These Ghoulish Ghost Cupcakes make quite the impression while being simple and quick – perfect if you have a party or large classroom snack to make!

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These Halloween cupcakes come together quickly, using a simple trick of a marshmallow covered in white chocolate or candy melts to form the “ghost” perched on top of delicious vanilla buttercream.

While we used from-scratch chocolate cupcakes as our base (and we provide the recipe below), you can easily use boxed chocolate cake mix to speed up the process.

How to Make Ghost Cupcakes

First, assemble your ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the vanilla buttercream:

1 cup butter, softened
3-4 cups icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

For the ghost decoration:

1 cup white candy melts
1 Tablespoon shortening or vegetable oil
24 large marshmallows
48 candy eyes

Next, prepare the chocolate cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a muffin pan with themed cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

For the frosting:

Place softened butter into a bowl and beat in 2 cups of icing sugar. Add 2 Tablespoons heavy cream and vanilla.

Add remaining icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Spoon the frosting into a piping bag with no tip or a circular tip.

To decorate:

Swirl the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

Melt the candy melts with the shortening for 25 seconds, stir, and reheat if necessary.

Place a large marshmallow in the center of each cupcake and spoon 1-2 Tablespoons of the candy melts overtop. Use the back of a spoon to help the candy melts move if needed.

Repeat with the other ghost cupcakes. After each ghost has dried for about 5 minutes, attempt to attach the eyes – if the candy melts are still too soft, give it another couple minutes before re-attempting.

These cupcakes were a total hit at my daughter’s classroom celebrations and after the candy melts dry they are surprisingly sturdy – making them a fun lunch box addition, or take-home party treat!

We also made these easy Ghost Meringue Cookies and Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage Cookies for our classroom treats.

For more adventures in baking with kids, check out: