Make easy ghost cupcakes with a regular cupcake pan! Frosted in white buttercream and topped with candy eyes, they are almost too cute to eat!
You might also like our pop tart haunted house, our bat brownies, or our homemade butterfingers made from candy corn!
How cute are these ghost cupcakes? Slap a set of candy eyes on anything white, and it instantly turns into a ghost. Couldn't be easier!
Why I Like This Recipe
- No special cupcake pan. These ghost cupcakes bake up in a regular cupcake pan! No need to buy and store a separate pan.
- Perfect for parties. Because they use a little less cake batter than a regular cupcake, one batch will make 36 cupcakes, making them perfect for Halloween parties. I have a giant pan that bakes 24 cupcakes at a time. It works great for this recipe since it makes 36 cupcakes. I use the large pan and a regular muffin pan.
- Made from a cake mix. You can make your cupcakes from scratch, but one tip my cake decorating instructor shared years ago is to use a cake mix when possible. She said most bakeries do! There are so many ways to doctor up a mix to make it your own.
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Tips and Tricks
- Use foil to shape cupcakes. You might be wondering how I shaped my cupcakes using a regular cupcake pan. Foil! I learned this trick from @beautyanddasweetz on Instagram. She used foil balls to create darling ghost muffins. Simply roll up aluminum foil into small balls and place around the cupcake liner.
- Don't worry too much about getting the ghost shapes just right. You might have some that look a little wonky when they come out of the oven, but that's totally fine. After they are frosted, you won't even notice.
- The best candy eyes. Black candy pearls work great for adding details to treats. I also used them on my stacked snowman cookies and my snowman hot cocoa bombs. I've tried several brands over the years and have found PME to be the best in terms of not bleeding into the frosting. You can also use black frosting or mini chocolate chips as an alternative.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- Cake mix: Any flavor you'd like.
- Eggs, oil, and water: According to the box instructions.
Frosting
- Butter: I bake exclusively with salted butter, but unsalted butter is fine too.
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
Supplies
- Aluminum foil
- Candy eyes/mouth
- Cupcake liners
- 2A or 1A piping tip (large round)
- Frosting bag
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Ghost Cupcakes
Step 1: Prepare cupcake batter according to the instructions on the box.
Step 2: Line a cupcake/muffin pan with paper baking cups. Roll aluminum foil into small balls.
Step 3: Add 2 tablespoons (medium cookie scoop) of cupcake batter to each baking cup. Position the foil balls between the metal from the pan and the cupcake liner. Two at the top, and two near the center to create a head and arms.
Step 4: Bake cupcakes for 16-18 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. This will help them keep their shape while they cool. Cool completely.
Top Tip
DO NOT OVERFILL THE BAKING CUPS! Usually, you'd need to fill the baking cup ⅔ with batter. Not for these. Use half the batter that you'd typically use, which is only about 2 Tbsp, or a medium-sized cookie scoop.
When you add the foil balls, the batter will rise a bit. You'll be glad you didn't overfill the baking cups. They'll rise even more during baking.
Step 5: Beat frosting ingredients together. Add a frosting tip to a frosting bag and fill it with buttercream.
Step 6: Frost cupcakes, then smooth with a butter knife or cake spatula. (Watch my video to see how I do this.)
Step 7: Add candy eyes/mouth.
Note: If you have a few cupcakes that look misshapen after baking, that's totally fine. Frost them the same as the rest, and you'll hardly notice.
Ghost Cupcakes FAQs
I have a giant pan that bakes 24 cupcakes at a time. It works great for this recipe since it makes 36 cupcakes. I use the large pan and a regular muffin pan.
Store cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Black candy pearls work great for adding details to treats. I also used them on my stacked snowman cookies and my snowman hot cocoa bombs. I've tried several brands over the years and have found PME to be the best in terms of not bleeding into the frosting. You can also use black frosting or mini chocolate chips as an alternative.
More Halloween Treats To Make
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Ghost Cupcakes
Equipment
- aluminum foil
- candy eyes/mouth
- cupcake liners
- 2A or 1A piping tip (large round)
- frosting bag
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 box cake mix any flavor you'd like
- eggs, oil and water according to box instructions
Frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp. milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare cupcake batter according to the instructions on the box.
- Line a cupcake/muffin pan with paper baking cups.
- Roll aluminum foil into small balls.
- Add 2 Tbsp. (medium cookie scoop) of cupcake batter to each baking cup.IMPORTANT: DO NOT OVERFILL THE BAKING CUPS! Normally you'd need to fill the baking cup ⅔ with batter. Not for these. Use half the batter that you'd normally use, which is about 2 tablespoon or a medium-sized cookie scoop.
- Position the foil balls around between the metal from the pan and the cupcake liner. Two at the top, and two near the center to create a head and arms.
- Bake cupcakes for 16-18 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. This will help them keep their shape while they cool.
- Cool completely.
Frosting
- Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth.Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat.
- Beat in vanilla. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Add a frosting tip to a frosting bag and fill it with buttercream.
- Frost cupcakes then smooth with a butter knife or cake spatula (watch my video to see how I do this).
- Add candy eyes and mouth.
Brandy says
Hi everyone! Brandy here, these turned out so fun. Even the ones that looked a little wonky at first looked cute after adding the frosting. So fun for Halloween. Enjoy!