Halloween is one of our favorite holidays! Baking up Halloween treats is our favorite fall activity right next to trick-or-treating. Make sure to check out these Severed Witch Fingers Cookies, come complete with green hued skin, bloody fingernails, and a dish of “blood” for dipping. These Mini Mummy Dogs with glowing yellow eyes make a delicious appetizer. And serve up some Halloween Feetloaf for dinner, it is sure to gross out your guests.
Bloody Halloween Cupcakes
Inside each one of these delightfully creepy Halloween cupcakes lurks a gruesome surprise. Beneath the creamy white frosting, hiding in the very center is…a pool of raspberry blood! EWWWWW…so gross!!
Red velvet cake is the perfect choice for these vampire cupcakes, with it’s rich red color and subtle chocolate flavor that pairs beautifully with the raspberry filling. Each cupcake is finished with a sweet swirl of cream cheese frosting and bit into by a vampire!!
Haha not really, the frosting receives two puncture holes that get filled with bright red raspberry that drips down making it look like the cupcake was the vampires next victim!
Vampire Cupcake Ingredients
- Flour: All-purpose flour works perfectly.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds to the sweetness.
- Cocoa: Use a good quality cocoa powder, only a little is needed to give a slight cocoa flavor.
- Baking Soda: The baking soda adds lift to these cupcakes. Make sure is is not expired.
- Salt: A little salt helps bring out the sweet flavor. It’s used in the cupcakes and a little in the frosting.
- Eggs: The eggs should be at room temperature.
- Buttermilk: Adds extra moisture. Take it out in advance so that it comes to room temperature.
- Oil: Use a neutral oil or vegetable oil.
- Vanilla Extract: Make sure to use extract not imitation vanilla flavor. Vanilla is used in the cupcakes and the frosting.
- Food Coloring: Liquid red food coloring or gel gives the cupcakes their signature color and the raspberry jam a more bloody appearance.
- Vinegar: Enhances the color and texture of red velvet cake. Use distilled white vinegar.
- Cream Cheese: Use full fat cream cheese in the block form is used for the frosting. You want it softened but still cool to the touch so don’t leave it at room temperature for too long.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter that is softened but still cool to the touch.
- Powdered Sugar: Sifted powdered sugar is used in the frosting to make it sweet.
How to Make Vampire Cupcakes
Here are the basic instructions to make red velvet vampire cupcakes. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post with full ingredients and instructions to make it.
Cooking Tips and Tricks
- Use room temperature eggs and buttermilk to keep a nice uniform batter.
- Wait until the cupcakes have cooled before adding the filling and the frosting.
- Decorate the cupcakes with the vampire bites right when you are ready to serve them because the jam may bleed some (no pun intended, lol).
- If the frosting gets too goopy, put it in the refrigerator until it stiffens back up.
Recipe Variations
- If you have a mini muffin pan, you can turn these into mini Halloween cupcakes.
- Use a store-bought frosting instead of the cream cheese one if you are short on time.
- Use strawberry, cherry, or blackberry jelly instead of the seedless raspberry jam. I don’t recommend using anything with big chunks of fruit in it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these cupcakes need to be kept in the refrigerator? Yes, it is recommended because of the cream cheese in the frosting.
Can I fill the cupcakes with jam without a cupcake corer? Yes, I like to use the wide side of a metal piping tip or cut a small cone shaped piece out of the center with a sharp paring knife. Just make sure to leave plenty of cake around the sides of the hole and don’t go all the way through the bottom of the cupcake. Also, keep the removed cake to replug the hole after filling is added.
How to Store & Reheat
How to store it? Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container that accommodates the frosting. They should last about 3-4 days in the fridge.
How to freeze? You can freeze just the cupcakes without the jam filling or frosting. Just place them into an air tight, freezer safe container. They can be frozen for 3-6 months, just be sure to label with the recipe and date.
Try these other fall recipes!
- Cookie Witch Hats
- Mummy Pizza Braid
- Apple Puff Pastry Turnovers
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Feetloaf {Halloween Meatloaf}
- Mini Mummy Dogs
If you’ve tried this Stuffed Red Velvet Vampire Cupcakes recipe, don’t forget to give me a star rating and leave me a comment below in the comment section. I love to hear from people who have made my recipes.
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Red Velvet Halloween Vampire Bite Cupcakes
Ingredients
For Cupcakes
- 150 grams all-purpose flour, about 1 1/4 cups
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring, divided, use more as needed
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
For Frosting
- 8 ounce block full-fat cream cheese, softened but cool to the touch
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but cool to the touch
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and red food coloring.
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Add about half of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix until somewhat incorporated then add in the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until almost fully incorporated, then mix in the vinegar until just combined.
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Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cupcake liners, filling them about ⅔ full.
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Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean or with a few moist crumbs. Leave cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack.
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In a medium microwave safe bowl, heat up the raspberry jam for 20-30 seconds just until melted once stirred. Add a little red food coloring until desired color is achieved.
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Once the cupcakes have cooled. With the wide end of a frosting tip, press down and spin on the top of each cupcake until you can’t push down any further. Just don’t go through the bottom of the cupcake. If you don’t get enough cake out, use a knife to scoop out more. Save the scooped out pieces. You can also try using a melon baller or a knife to remove the cake.
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Once the jam has cooled a bit, add about 2 teaspoons of the jam to the well of each cupcake. Replace the scooped out pieces over the top.
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Add softened cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until creamy. If the frosting is too soft, you can put it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm it back up, max 20 minutes.
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Using either a #1A or #2A piping tip, frost each cupcake.
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Using a toothpick or skewer, make two small holes in the frosting.. Add drips of the jam into the holes then down the sides a little to form the bite marks (I use a 1 ml syringe).
Recipe Notes
- If you have a mini muffin pan, you can turn these into mini Halloween cupcakes.
- Use a store-bought frosting instead of the cream cheese one if you are short on time.
- Use strawberry, cherry, or blackberry jelly instead of the seedless raspberry jam. I don’t recommend using anything with big chunks of fruit in it.
- Leftover cupcakes need to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
Nutrition Information
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