My sister and I are absolutely obsessed with Halloween. From the spooky music, haunted houses, and dressing in costumes to carving pumpkins and everything in between – we love this time of year. So naturally, festive food is high on our list. My sister has been making these creepy yet delectable Spooky Broken Glass Red Velvet Cupcakes for a few years now, and they just keep getting better. Tender, fluffy red velvet cake studded with mini chocolate chips is covered in sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting. Shards of candy glass pierce through the frosting for an eerie touch. Shockingly realistic fake blood is the final touch on these gory, terrifyingly delicious treats. These cupcakes will be the star of any Halloween party and make for the perfect final bite on a cold Halloween night.
There’s so much to love about October, and Halloween tops that list for my family. We’ve been dressing up and decking out the house in spooky fashion for as long as I can remember. When my sister and I stopped trick-or-treating (which was in high school I might add), we turned our attention to Halloween parties, movies, and events to keep the spooky spirit alive.
Part of the fun is thinking up new twists on delicious foods that make them just right for the season.
These cupcakes are perfect because at their core, they are traditional red velvet cupcakes. Everyone loves the chocolatey flavor and creamy tang of red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. Why not take those colors to the next level with a little…”accident” in the kitchen…
The cake and frosting parts of this recipe, while traditional, are full of flavor. After all, I’m not interested in spooky food that only LOOKS good. The cake has cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips for double the chocolate and incorporates a little white vinegar for a super tender and fluffy texture.
As for the frosting, cream cheese frosting is my favorite kind. Not too sweet with just the right amount of tang from the cream cheese and scented with vanilla, this frosting is perfect for slathering over cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, and more.
Now into the eerie parts. The sugar glass is a key element in just how real these cupcakes look. Don’t be intimidated by working with sugar. Using a candy thermometer is key to knowing exactly what stage your sugar is at and how fast it’s heating. Grab a thermometer, some oven mitts for safety, and some patience and you’ll have crystal clear, edible glass before you know it.
Getting the sugar as thin and even as you can on the baking sheets will help your final glass be clear and free of bubbles.
Finally, we craft some spookily realistic fake blood. Using a touch of cocoa powder and blue food dye darkens the blood just enough that people will be doing double-takes at those drips…
One word of caution, this fake blood *will stain* so be careful with white countertops and light-colored clothing.
Half the fun is decorating these festive cupcakes. So go ahead, prepare your cupcakes, throw on a scary movie, and get to work crafting a show-stopping Halloween treat.
I hope you love these Spooky Broken Glass Red Velvet Cupcakes as much as I do! If you make this recipe, leave a comment and let me know what you thought or feel free to ask a question! I’d also love to see what you made! Tag me in your food pics @fortheperfectbite or use #fortheperfectbite on Instagram.
Spooky Broken Glass Red Velvet Cupcakes
Equipment
- Candy Thermometer
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cupcakes
- 1 ⅓ cups cake flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder1
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp salted butter room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup buttermilk2
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp red food dye
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ⅓ cup salted butter room temperature
- 6 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp salt
Sugar "Glass"
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- ⅔ cup light corn syrup
Fake Blood
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 3-4 drops red food dye
- ½ drop blue food dye
Instructions
Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Into a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-low speed, cream together the butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy.
- Beat the eggs into the butter and sugar.
- Mix the vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, vinegar, and red food dye into the wet ingredients.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using low speed, ¼ cup at a time. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake liners. Fill each cupcake liner about ¾ of the way with batter.
- Bake the cupcakes for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place the cupcakes onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip together the softened butter and cream cheese on high speed, until fluffy and smooth.
- Using low to medium speed, mix the powdered sugar into the butter-cream cheese mixture, ½ cup at a time.
- Using medium-high speed, mix the vanilla extract and salt into the icing. Whip for an additional minute until fluffy.
Sugar "Glass"
- In a medium pot, heat the sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium-high heat. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of the sugar mixture. Stir the mixture constantly until it boils, then reaches 300°F (hard tack candy temperature).
- As soon as the sugar mixture reaches 300°F, immediately divide the mixture between the two baking sheets, carefully pouring the molten sugar.Quickly rotate the baking sheets so the hot sugar mixture covers the sheets in a thin layer.
- Allow the sugar sheets to cool and harden, 1-2 hours.
- Use a heavy spoon to hit the hardened sugar sheets, cracking them into pieces. Continue until the pieces are your desired size.
Fake Blood
- Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl to remove lumps. To the bowl, add the corn syrup and corn starch, whisking to combine. Stir in the food dyes.To obtain half a drop of blue food dye, first drop it onto a spoon, then dip your whisk into the drop to add slowly. To darken the "blood," slowly add either more blue food dye or cocoa powder.
Spooky Broken Glass Cupcakes
- When the cupcakes are cool, use a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag with the corner snipped off to frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.
- Arrange various sized "glass" pieces across the top of the cupcakes. Drizzle with fake blood.
- Serve, and have a Happy Halloween!
Notes
- This red velvet cake has less chocolate flavor than some varieties. If you want more chocolate flavor, replace a 1/4 cup of the flour with cocoa powder.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute 1/4 cup greek yogurt and 1/4 cup whole milk, mixed.
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