🎃Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcake Recipe

5 from 5 votes

🎃Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcake Recipe

These Halloween Jack o 'lantern Cupcakes are chocolate pinata cupcakes (filled with candies) with more candies on top! They are great for kids and adults alike and perfect for your next Halloween party or potluck!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Canadian, North American

Keyword candy, cupcakes, Halloween, Jack o'lantern

Special Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 20

Total Time 45

Servings cupcakes

Calories 394kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Equipment

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

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

Bake cupcakes as per recipe instructions
12 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 full
2 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 frosting
3 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

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.

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