Cakes & CupcakesNo. 6636 · The 2026 edition
Ghost Halloween Cupcakes
These ghostly Halloween cupcakes are moist, chocolatey, and topped with a fluffy marshmallow frosting that's perfect for decorating.
Our own summary of the original by Olivia's Cuisine — the full post and photos live at oliviascuisine.com.
This recipe yields 12 rich chocolate cupcakes with a light marshmallow buttercream frosting. After cooling, pipe on the frosting and add candy eyes (and optional mouths) to create adorable ghost faces. Perfect for a spooky treat that's both delicious and fun to make.
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- In a stand mixer bowl, combine the softened butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and boiling water. Beat on low until smooth and the sugar dissolves.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat the egg, then mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
- With the mixer on low, add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Then add the egg-sour cream mixture, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Mix just until combined—do not overmix, or the cupcakes won't be moist and pillowy.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- In a stand mixer bowl, beat the softened butter and marshmallow fluff together until creamy and smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream, and beat until fully incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Once incorporated, increase speed and beat for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Adjust consistency with more powdered sugar (if too thin) or more cream (if too thick). Add a pinch of salt if the frosting is too sweet.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes using a piping tip (such as Wilton 12), then decorate with Halloween candy eyes or mini chocolate chips to create eyes and optional little 'boo' mouths.
More photos
Photos hosted by oliviascuisine.com.