These Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcakes are cute little jack o'lantern buckets filled with chocolate piñata cupcakes filled with candies and topped with even more candies. These candy-filled Halloween chocolate cupcakes are perfect for a Halloween party because they are simple and fun to make and easily transported to wherever you are going! You're probably going to dig into that Halloween candy before Halloween anyway, so why not use some to top these cupcakes off with it?
The candy surprise inside makes this cupcake even more satisfying because there's even more candy to be had than the candy you see on top! These cupcakes are ideal for a Halloween potluck or party, but great any time of year.
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And if you're looking for more Halloween potluck ideas, be sure to check out these Halloween Potluck ideas!
As a kid, I dreamed of candy. Childhood dreams really do come true...I always loved Halloween - trick or treating was so much fun! Neighbors giving away endless amounts of candy, and all I was required to do was ring the doorbell?! Carrying one of those cute little plastic jack-o-lantern buckets to collect my candy in, with candy spilling out over the top, was definitely one of the year's highlights.
Besides going door to door to get candy, there are very few things that are more fun than busting something open to have candy spill out of it. And that's what Piñata Cupcakes or surprise middle cupcakes are.
🥘 Ingredient Notes
The fun part is topping these Chocolate Halloween cupcakes with your favorites. I bought a variety bag and used some candy I had in the house, but you could use any candy you desire.
- Cupcakes You can buy plain cupcakes (or already iced), use a box cake mix, your favorite chocolate cake recipe, my Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake or my Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake. You could also use vanilla cupcakes or pumpkin cupcakes.
- Scaries (Halloween smarties). You could substitute regular smarties or another similar candy such as M&M's.
- Frosting. You can use store-bought, your favorite frosting, my Whipped Cream Buttercream Frosting or my Chocolate Frosting (without butter), chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting or orange frosting.
- Black licorice. You could use rope licorice instead or skip the licorice if you don't like it. You could also use black pipe cleaner - just makes sure everyone knows it's not edible and cover the ends in food-safe plastic wraps if it's going to be touching anything edible.
- Candies for topping. I bought a variety pack and used leftover candy I had on hand, such as ju jubes, peppermint starlights and soft toffee, as well as Smarties/Scaries, but you can use your favorite candies.
*Please see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
🔪 Step-by-Step: How to make Jack o lantern Cupcakes
- Step 1: Draw jack o' lantern faces with a black marker on orange dessert cups, if you didn't purchase orange dessert cups with jack-o-lantern faces.
- Step 2: When cupcakes are cooled, use an apple corer to remove the centres of cupcakes and set aside the centres.
- Step 3: Fill cupcakes with Smarties or other small candies to ¾ full.
- Step 4: Cut centres in half and only put the top half back into the hole in the cupcakes.
- Step 5: Pipe frosting on cupcakes.
- Step 6: Gently set the cupcake inside the orange cup. Add a piece of black licorice as the handle, securing it on each side of the cupcake (it should slide in and stay on each side of the cupcake, but you can use a little icing to make it stick if you need to).
- Step 7: Top with candies and serve!
Expert Recipe Tips
- Cool cupcakes completely before coring and filling. If they're even slightly warm, the candy may melt inside and lose its crunch.
- Don't overfill the center-leave a little space so the "plug" of cupcake sits flat on top and frosting spreads smoothly.
- Draw faces ahead of time. Decorating the cups the day before makes assembly faster, especially if kids are helping.
- Secure the licorice handles. If they don't stay in place, dab a little frosting inside the cup where the licorice sits to hold it firmly.
- Use a variety of candy textures. Mix chewy, crunchy, and chocolatey toppings for more fun and a balanced look.
- Go for stability when transporting. If traveling with these cupcakes, add the licorice handles at your destination so they don't shift or snap.
- Freeze cupcakes plain. If you're making them in advance, freeze just the baked cupcakes. Fill, frost, and decorate after thawing to keep the candy and frosting fresh.
- Add extra color. Orange frosting or a little edible glitter makes the cupcakes pop and look even more like glowing jack o'lanterns.
- Double as a party activity. Set up a decorating station with blank cups, candies, and markers so kids (or adults!) can design their own jack o'lantern cupcake.
👪 Serving Size
This jack-o-lantern cupcakes recipe makes 12 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
Equipment
Piñata Cupckaes are surprisingly easy to make - all you need is an apple corer and 9 oz paper dessert cups and a black marker, or you can buy orange dessert cups that already have jack-o-lantern faces drawn on (affiliate link).
If you are making the cupcakes from scratch you'll need a muffin tin and cupcake liners, as well as a piping bag, coupler, and 1M tip.
🚗Transporting
If you need to transport these Chocolate Halloween cupcakes, use the cups with lids, cover with plastic wrap or just put them into a taller container and add the licorice when you get to where you are going.
🌡️Storage
Store these Halloween cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. It is not necessary to refrigerate them (unless you use a frosting that requires refrigeration).
You can also make these cupcakes in advance and freeze them (but do not fill and frost them until after they are fully defrosted.
❔ Recipe FAQs
No, as long as the cupcakes are fully cooled before adding the candy. Avoid leaving them in a warm spot for too long so the chocolate doesn't soften.
Yes! You can bake the cupcakes a day or two in advance, then fill, frost, and decorate them the day you plan to serve. This keeps the candy inside from getting stale or sticky.
If you don't own an apple corer, you can use a small paring knife, melon baller, or even the wide end of a piping tip to remove the cupcake centers.
Absolutely. The cups make them extra festive, but the cupcakes will still work without them. You can serve them in regular cupcake liners or place them in any small treat cup.
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So, if you have a Halloween gathering, party, or potluck coming up, then why not take along these easy Jack o lantern cupcakes?!
And be sure to try my Boo! Halloween Dessert Cups if you're looking for another individual Halloween dessert!
📋More Halloween Recipes!
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🎃Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 chocolate cupcakes
you can use any chocolate cake recipe, use a cake mix or store-bought cupcakes * I recommend my Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake which I used for these - 2 boxes smarties ('scaries') or candies (to fill cupcake) * Scaries are the Halloween smarties
- 3 cups chocolate frosting * I recommend my Chocolate Whipped Cream Buttercream frosting
- 12 pieces black licorice
- variety of candies for topping * you could use leftover candy too
- 12 orange paper ice cream/dessert cups (9 oz)
- black marker
Instructions
- Bake cupcakes as per recipe instructions12 chocolate cupcakes
- When cupcakes are cooled, use an apple corer to remove centres of cupcakes and set aside centres
- Fill cupcake with smarties or other small candies to ¾ full2 boxes smarties ('scaries') or candies (to fill cupcake)
- Cut centres in half and only put top half back into hole in cupcakes
Decorating
- Top cupcakes with frosting3 cups chocolate frosting
- Draw a jack o'lantern face on each orange cup (you'll want to draw a variety of faces)12 orange paper ice cream/dessert cups (9 oz)
- Gently set cupcake inside orange cup.
- Add a piece of black licorice as the handle, securing on each side of the cupcake (it should slide in and stay on each side of the cupcake, but you can use a little icing to make it stick if you need to)12 pieces black licorice
- Add candies to the top of each cupcake and serve!variety of candies for topping
Notes
- Cool cupcakes completely before coring and filling. If they're even slightly warm, the candy may melt inside and lose its crunch.
- Don't overfill the center-leave a little space so the "plug" of cupcake sits flat on top and frosting spreads smoothly.
- Draw faces ahead of time. Decorating the cups the day before makes assembly faster, especially if kids are helping.
- Secure the licorice handles. If they don't stay in place, dab a little frosting inside the cup where the licorice sits to hold it firmly.
- Use a variety of candy textures. Mix chewy, crunchy, and chocolatey toppings for more fun and a balanced look.
- Go for stability when transporting. If traveling with these cupcakes, add the licorice handles at your destination so they don't shift or snap.
- Freeze cupcakes plain. If you're making them in advance, freeze just the baked cupcakes. Fill, frost, and decorate after thawing to keep the candy and frosting fresh.
- Add extra color. Orange frosting or a little edible glitter makes the cupcakes pop and look even more like glowing jack o'lanterns.
- Double as a party activity. Set up a decorating station with blank cups, candies, and markers so kids (or adults!) can design their own jack o'lantern cupcake.
Sean@Diversivore
Awww, these are tons of fun! Such a great way to really take the Halloween theme to a cupcake. And I love that they stay separate and neat too - perfect for kids at a Halloween party!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Sean!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Oh my gosh these are the CUTEST!!! My kids would absolutely love them!! Perfect for Halloween!
Terri Gilson
Thanks Katherine! My kids and their friends definitely enjoyed them!
Kristen
Terri these are so freakin cute - what a great recipe to involve my daughter in, she will love this!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Kristen! Your daughter will love helping! My 12 year old daughter drew all the Jack o’lantern faces- I am not that artistic 🙂
Sabrina
These are absolutely the cutest! What a fun great idea, I can’t wait to surprise my kids with these, thanks!
Colleen
Definitely the stuff of childhood dreams, Terri! These cupcakes are adorable and so fun. I love how simple they are and so creative!