A quick and easy Halloween treat for your little ghosts and goblins are these fun cupcakes. Perfect for rainy afternoons or a weekend project, these cupcakes are easy enough for your littlest ones to help with the decorating and your older ones will enjoy mixing, baking and designing their monsters.
Start with a basic boxed cake mix. Prepare and bake according to directions. Each box should make 24 cupcakes. While the cupcakes are baking, mix up this delicious buttercream frosting.
Best Ever
Buttercream Frosting Recipe
1 C Unsalted Butter, softened
1 C Solid Shortening
1lb. Powdered Sugar
1Tbsp. Vanilla
1Tsp. Butter Flavor (optional)
1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream
With an electric mixer, beat softened butter and shortening together until light and fluffy. Scrape sides and add 1/4 of the powdered sugar. Mix in, then add vanilla and butter flavoring and another 1/4 of powdered sugar. Alternate remaining powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream until frosting is your desired consistency. (You might not need all of the heavy cream.)
Once your cupcakes are baked and cooled and your icing is complete, you are ready to decorate! You will need: Icing Decorator tips, couplers for tips, food color, and disposable frosting bags (or freezer ziploc bags .)
Divide frosting into smaller bowls to add food coloring. (I prefer Wilton brand paste coloring. It is available at most Walmart stores and at craft stores.) Mix throughly and spoon into individual frosting bags. The tips used to create the cupcakes pictured are: #27 Star Tip, #5 round tip (small opening), #10 Round tip (larger opening), and #234 Grass tip (multiple round openings).
If you prefer not to invest in making your own frosting and buying decorating tips, you can still make these cupcakes using the pre-packaged tubes of frosting and the disposable tips designed to screw onto the tube.
For the background of the monster face, use either a star tip or the grass tip to create fur. Lift gently as you squeeze the bag to stretch out the frosting. For the eyes, use the larger circle tip to make a round mound of frosting for the white part of the eye. For the pupil, use the smaller round tip. Play around with the shape of the eyes. You can make ovals, tear drops and other shapes to change your monster’s expression. The pupils can be close set, cross eyed, large or small.
To create your monster’s mouth use a the round tip to create the mouth opening, filling in with the color of your choice. Then add scary teeth or a tongue or leave open in a scream.
You can also add hair, eyebrows and noses to your monsters. Let your imagination go wild. What kind of spooky creatures can you and your family create?
Share your best monstrous cupcakes by posting photos to Facebook and tag The White Hall Journal on the picture.
