Pumpkin cupcakes are another Halloween treat I took to my little one’s school along with the witch finger cookies. I made the cupcakes with pumpkin cake batter studded with chocolate chips, and finished them with swirls of ghost-shaped frosting.
The ghost cupcakes were a complete success – 20 kids finished 36 treats. I think it’s partially because the witch finger cookies were too scary-looking for 1st graders. I noticed a little girl looking for a smiling ghost and not a frowny-looking monster. Note to self: next year, make less creepy-looking Halloween treats!
1. Info for Ghost Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 36
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Ghost Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon extract
- 1-½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-¼ teaspoons salt
- 1-½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1-½ cups pumpkin purée, canned
- 6 tablespoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 tablespoons colored sprinkles, as needed
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the egg with granulated sugar. You’ll get a pale yellow foam and the texture of the egg will be thicker. Add the cinnamon extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and baking powder. Sift all the dry ingredients.
- Cream 8 tablespoons of butter with the brown sugar (whisk using a stand-mixer to get as much air as possible into the butter). Add the egg mixture and the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add the buttermilk, pumpkin purée and the mini chocolate chips.
- Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the pumpkin cake batter into 3 12-hole mini muffin pans. Plastic wrap the trays and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes (or until you’re ready to bake).
- Remove the plastic wrap, then bake the cupcakes for 5 minutes at 375°F, then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Let cool completely.
- To make vanilla butter-cream frosting, combine the remaining butter, remaining salt, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Put the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe immediately onto the cupcakes, starting with a circle around the cupcake and finishing with a mound of frosting on top.
- Decorate the frosting with sprinkles, forming ghost faces (I used fish bone tweezers to place the sprinkles).
- Bon appétit!
- I made the horns with spun sugar (I’ll show you how to make it in a different post).