These spooky Frankenstein Cupcakes are perfect for Halloween! Use this easy cupcake decorating technique to make a Frankenstein face from buttercream and sprinkles on the cupcake flavor of your choice.
🧪 Spooky Halloween Frankenstein Cupcakes
Get ready to bring your Halloween baking to life with these adorably spooky Frankenstein cupcakes. They’re the perfect treat for your monster mash, Halloween party, or just a fun afternoon activity.
These Frankenstein cupcakes are all about the decorating, so we’re keeping it simple with the cupcakes themselves – you can use your favorite cake mix, or one of our homemade cupcake recipes linked below.
Follow along with the photo tutorial or video walkthrough, and you’ll have an army of Franken-licious monsters in no time.
🎃 More Halloween Treats
Find more Halloween baking inspiration with our most popular Halloween dessert recipes: Melting Chocolate Skulls, Slice and Bake Halloween Cookies, Witch’s Brew Halloween Punch, and much more!
Table of Contents
🧾 What You’ll Need
Ingredients
Keep these tips in mind as you prepare to make your Frankenstein cupcakes. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
For the Cupcakes and Frosting
- Cupcakes: You’ll need 24 baked and cooled cupcakes. You can make cupcakes from scratch (try one of our favorite cupcake recipes!) or use your favorite box mix. I used white cupcakes for my little monsters, but you can make any flavor you like.
- Unsalted butter and salt: I like to control the amount of salt in my frosting. I used unsalted butter and then added salt. If you don’t have unsalted butter, you can use salted butter and omit the salt. The butter should be at cool room temperature.
- Milk: Use a little milk to adjust the consistency of the frosting.
- Vanilla extract: Good-quality vanilla extract makes a simple vanilla buttercream extra-tasty.
- Powdered sugar: One of the key ingredients to making American Buttercream is powdered sugar. You’ll want to measure it and then sift it into the mixture.
For the Decorations
- Tootsie Rolls: We’ll use a few Tootsie Roll Midgees to create Frankenstein’s neck bolts. If you don’t have Tootsie Rolls in your part of the world, you could also use black fondant, gumpaste or taffy. You could even try small chocolate candies, bits of pretzel, or just more black buttercream.
- Chocolate jimmie sprinkles: I think Frankenstein is rockin’ his chocolate jimmie hairdo, but you can substitute as needed. Crushed Oreos, fondant or even just plain frosting would give the illusion of hair.
- Gel food coloring: I use and love Americolor brand gel food coloring. It’s highly concentrated so you only need a little to achieve deep coloring. I used electric green for the base frosting that creates the face and unibrow, and super black to dye the frosting for his hair, mouth and scars.
- Candy eyeballs: To complete Frankenstein’s face, I used small candy eyeballs. They are pretty easy to find, but you can also use M&Ms, Sixlets or small round sprinkles.
Equipment
Thankfully, you won’t need much to make Franken-dorable cupcakes–just a few baking basics! (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
- Piping bags and couplers: I like these piping bags (I wash them and re-use them to reduce waste!) and these couplers. You can also make your own piping bags from plastic zipper bags. If you go this route you won’t need couplers or tips, either.
- Piping tips: I’d recommend using a small round tip like Wilton Tip #1 for the mouth and scar, and a slightly larger small round tip like Wilton Tip #6 for the unibrow.
- Cupcake liners: I used plain black cupcake liners when I baked my cupcakes. However, you can have fun when it’s time to serve them by dressing them in solid colored rainbow liners or Halloween cupcake liners.
🧡 More Halloween Cupcakes
Leave a Review!
If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe below, and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @elabau, or use #sugarhero on IG!
Frankenstein Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 24 baked and cooled cupcakes, from scratch or your favorite mix, I used white cupcakes
For the Frosting
- 1 lb unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 2 TBSP milk, can substitute water
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 TBSP vanilla extract
- 28 oz powdered sugar, (7 cups), sifted after measuring
To Decorate
- Black gel food coloring, I used Americolor brand, Super Black
- Green gel food coloring, I used Americolor brand, Electric Green
- 12 Tootsie Roll Midgees, or black fondant or gumpaste
- Chocolate jimmies, or other sprinkle of choice
- 48 small candy eyeballs
Instructions
Make the Frosting
- Place the butter in the bowl of a large stand mixer. Beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment until very white and pale, about 3-4 minutes.
- Turn the speed lower, and add 1 tablespoon of milk, the salt, and the vanilla extract. Mix until everything is well incorporated with the butter.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the powdered sugar. Once all of it is added, stop and scrape down the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl, then mix the buttercream on medium speed for 30 seconds.
- If the buttercream is too stiff for your needs, add the remaining tablespoon of milk, a little at a time, and mix it in well. You can adjust the final texture by adding more powdered sugar or milk until you like the consistency.
Color the Frosting
- Separate out about a quarter of the buttercream and place it in a small bowl. Dye this portion black, using good-quality powder or gel food coloring, like Americolor Super Black. (If you don’t mind some chocolate flavor, you can also add 1/4 cup black cocoa powder to reduce the amount of food coloring needed).
- Dye the remaining three quarters of the frosting a bright vibrant green – I used Americolor Electric Green gel food coloring.
- You can use the colored frosting right away, but it’s best to chill it for at least 1 hour before use. See Note below.
Frost the Cupcakes
- When you are ready to frost the cupcakes, place some green frosting into a piping bag fitted with a plain coupler or large round tip, like Ateco tip #809.
- Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pipe a large round ball of green frosting on top of a cupcake (approximately 3 TBSP).
- Invert the cupcake and gently press it onto one of the lined baking sheets so that the frosting spreads evenly and covers the top of the cupcake. Leave it upside-down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
- Chill the cupcakes for 30 minutes in the freezer or 60 minutes in the refrigerator, until the buttercream is very firm. Peel the cupcakes off the parchment, revealing a completely flat buttercream layer on top.
Decorate the Cupcakes
- Place the black frosting into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (I used Wilton tip #1).
- Give Frankenstein hair by piping around the top of a cupcake and adding a jagged bottom border. Fill in the center of the squiggly shape with black frosting.
- Right away, spoon chocolate jimmies onto the black buttercream and press down gently so they adhere. (Tip: to prevent the jimmies from sticking to the rest of the face, cover the green portion with a small piece of parchment paper.) Repeat with all of the cupcakes.
- To make a slightly thick unibrow, attach a small round piping tip, like Wilton tip #6, to the piping bag filled with green frosting. Pipe a straight or wavy unibrow just below the sprinkle hairline.
- Place 2 small candy eyeballs below the unibrow. Then use the piping bag filled with black frosting to pipe a zig-zag mouth and sewn-up scar.
- Make the neck bolts: unwrap each Tootsie Roll and cut them in half widthwise. Then cut each piece in half again so that you have a total of 48 pieces of candy.
- Pick up a piece of Tootsie Roll and use your fingers to gently start rolling downward to elongate the candy. Keep rolling downward until the Tootsie Roll piece begins to look like a neck bolt. Repeat this process until all 48 pieces are prepped.
- To prevent droopy decorations, attach the neck bolts shortly before serving. Insert a Tootsie Roll neck bolt into the outer rim of the green frosting on the right and left side of the smile. Serve and enjoy!
- Store extras in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. If they have been chilled, allow them to come to room temperature before serving for the best taste and texture.
Recipe Notes
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Nutrition
📸 Photo Tutorial: How to Make Frankenstein Cupcakes
Here’s that step-by-step overview I promised for how to decorate Frankenstein Cupcakes! You can find more detailed instructions in the recipe card above.
Pipe Frosting On Top
- Prep baking sheets and decorations. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and place the smaller decorations in their own bowls. Set all items aside.
- Fill piping bag. Fit a piping bag with a large round tip, like Ateco #809, or coupler, and fill it with green frosting.
- Pipe frosting ball. Pipe a large round ball of frosting on top of a cupcake (approximately 3 TBSP).
- Turn upside down and press. Turn the cupcake upside down and gently press it onto a lined baking sheet so that the frosting spreads evenly and covers the top of the cupcake.
- Chill until firm. Repeat this frosting technique for all the cupcakes. Place them in the freezer for 30 minutes or the refrigerator for 60 minutes, until very firm.
- Peel the cupcakes off the parchment, revealing a completely flat buttercream layer on top.
Create the Hair
- Prep black frosting. Fit another piping bag with black frosting and a small round tip, like Wilton round tip #1.
- Pipe frosting hair. Make the hair by piping along the top edge of the cupcake and then make a squiggly line that connects frome one side to the other. Fill in the center of the squiggly shape with black frosting.
- Sprinkle with chocolate jimmies. Right away, sprinkle chocolate sprinkles on top of the black frosting and press gently so they stick. Tip: cover the green part of the cupcake with a strip of parchment during the sprinkle step to keep it clean. Repeat until all the cupcakes have sprinkle hair.
Add Facial Details
- Create green brow. Attach a small round piping tip, like Wilton tip #6, to the piping bag filled with green frosting. Pipe a unibrow just below the hairline.
- Add eyes, mouth and scars. Place 2 small candy eyeballs below the unibrow. Pipe on a black zig-zag mouth and scar/stitches. Continue adding facial details until all the cupcakes have a face.
- Shape Tootsie Rolls. Cut 12 small Tootsie Rolls in half lengthwise. Cut each piece in half again, so that you have 48 pieces of candy total. Take a Tootsie Roll and pinch gently on the bottom half of the piece and use your fingers to gently roll downward until the candy is elongated on one side. Repeat this process until you have 48 neck bolts.
- Insert neck bolts. Insert a neck bolt into the outer rim of the green frosting on the right and left side of the smile on each cupcake. Tip: Tootsie Rolls tend to get soft and droopy with time and moisture, and may look wilted if they are inserted too early. Add the neck bolts just before serving.
- Enjoy!
💡Tips For Success
Just a few tips to help you make the best Halloween cupcakes ever!
- Making sure the sprinkles stick: The frosting used in this recipe is an American-style buttercream (made primarily with powdered sugar and butter). It will form a crust as it sits at room temperature, so you will need to work in batches of 2-3 cupcakes at a time when attaching the sprinkle hair. This will help prevent the frosting from crusting over before covering it with sprinkles.
- Frosting consistency: Many factors affect frosting texture, including the brand and temperature of the butter, and the temperature of your kitchen, so don’t be afraid to play around at the end to get a texture you’re happy with.
- Tootsie Roll neck bolts: If you are making your cupcakes in advance, wait to insert the candy neck bolts until just before serving. They tend to get soft and droopy with time and may look wilted if they are inserted too early.
💭 FAQs
If you wait too long to add the sprinkles, the frosting will start to crust and they won’t stick well. If the frosting does start to crust, you can brush the top of the black squiggle frosting hair with a bit of water or thinned-out corn syrup to get the sprinkles to stick.
If you don’t have piping bags and tips on hand, you can use Ziplock bags, and cut a small hole in one of the corners to pipe frosting through.
If you’ve ever tried to make black frosting, you’ll agree that it is one of the most difficult colors to make. Your best chance of success is to use a high-quality gel or powdered food coloring, and to make the frosting at least a day in advance.
I use and recommend Americolor Ultra Black food coloring, but other gel and powdered options will also work. Just avoid liquid color, which is not as strong and will require a LOT of coloring to get your desired shade.
After mixing in the coloring, it ESSENTIAL to give it time to sit and deepen. This extra time allows the color to fully develop and makes a more vibrant black. I recommend making and coloring the buttercream a day before you want to use it.
And, if you don’t mind some chocolate flavor, you can also add 2-3 TBSP black cocoa powder to the frosting to reduce the amount of food coloring needed.
Frosting. If you choose to chill your frosting before decorating, you’ll want to cover each bowl with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap downward until it touches and covers the top of the frosting. Contact with the plastic wrap will prevent a crust forming on the top of the frosting. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week. When you are ready to use it, let it come to room temperature and then whip on medium until it’s light and fluffy again.
Cupcakes. Store extras in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. If they have been chilled, allow them to come to room temperature before serving for the best taste and texture.
