Easy Halloween Cupcakes - Gluten Free, Eggless

My easy Halloween cupcakes are such a fun treat to serve at a party or take to your kids' school!

If you read my Halloween sugar cookie post, you know how much I love this holiday. I always have to stop myself from putting up our decorations too early. On the first day of Fall this year, I posted a poll in my Instagram story asking if it was too soon to decorate. The only "yes" vote? My husband 😂 so I guess we all know how he feels about that.

But anyway! Back to these Halloween cupcakes. I always find that cupcakes are the perfect easy treat for every holiday or occasion. If you find a good base cupcake recipe that you like, all you have to do is switch up the frosting and you're set!

In this case, I took my gluten free chocolate cupcake recipe, which I first shared here, simply because I LOVE those. Truly. They're deliciously moist and a chocolate lover's dream. In that post, I topped those eggless cupcakes off with a Russian buttercream but like I said -- we're just switching up the frosting to make super easy Halloween cupcakes today!

I thought about all of the different fun ways I could have decorated these gluten free chocolate cupcakes (and trust me, there are a LOT), and finally settled on a candy corn inspired swirl. There's not actually any candy corn in this buttercream frosting. But I promise it's delicious.

Why You'll Love These Easy Halloween Cupcakes...

• I said it before and I'll say it again. All that chocolate. These cupcakes are SO moist and chocolatey.
• They're just so festive! The candy corn inspired buttercream frosting couldn't be easier, and really do add a little Halloween magic to these cupcakes.
• This is a fun one to make with kids. They'll love mixing up the frosting to make the different colors!

What You'll Need...

• The dry ingredients: flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt.
• The flavor: cocoa powder + sugar + vanilla + instant coffee (it helps intensify the chocolate flavor!).
• Instead of eggs: Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer.
• For moisture: canola oil + sour cream.
• To top it off: unsalted butter + powdered sugar + heavy cream + gel food coloring.

How To Make Easy Halloween Cupcakes...

To make my easy Halloween cupcakes, we'll start by whisking the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set that aside and move on to your wet ingredients: combine the prepared egg replacer, sugar, oil, sour cream, coffee, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix it all up until you have a nice, smooth batter. Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners (fill them up about halfway), and bake on 350ºF for about 18 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool COMPLETELY before attempting to frost (otherwise your frosting will turn into a melty mess).

For the frosting, we're actually using cold butter rather than room temperature. I've just found that it holds up better that way. Cut your butter into cubes, then beat using a mixer for about 5 minutes, until it's nice and creamy and lighter in color. Add in your powdered sugar (make sure to sift first!) and beat for another 3-4 minutes, then add your heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time. You may have to eyeball the cream and, depending on your consistency, might need more or less than what I've specified. Just use your best judgment and make sure to add it in gradually.

Finally, separate your frosting into thirds. Use food coloring to color one third yellow, another third orange, and leave the last third white. Pipe onto each individual cupcake, starting with a swirl of yellow, then orange, then white frosting. I used a Wilton 1M tip for my batch, but you can get creative!

That's all there is to it! Happy Halloween!

Easy Halloween Cupcakes - Gluten Free, Eggless

Print Recipe

We're topping my extra moist chocolate cupcakes with festive buttercream for an easy Halloween treat!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, cupcakes, eggless, gluten free, halloween

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 18 mins

Total Time 48 mins

Servings 12 cupcakes

Author Taleen Benson

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (111g) gluten free flour blend
• ½ cup (42g) cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup (150g) sugar
• ⅓ cup (80ml) vegetable or canola oil
• ½ cup (113g) sour cream room temperature
• 2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer mixed with 4 tbsp water
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules dissolved in ¼ cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter cold, cubed
• 3 cups (340g) powdered sugar sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, vegetable oil, sour cream, prepared egg replacer, coffee, and vanilla together. Add in dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.
• Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling them up halfway. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
• To make the frosting, use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and beat until combined, another 3-4 minutes. Add the heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until you have the desired consistency.
• Separate the frosting into thirds. Leave one third white and use gel food coloring to tint the second portion yellow and the third portion orange. Transfer to three separate piping bags and pipe a swirl of yellow, followed by a slightly smaller swirl of orange on top, and an even smaller swirl of white on top of that. Repeat with all cupcakes.

Notes

• Be sure to follow the instructions on the package of Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer. Once mixed with water, the egg replacer must sit for just a few minutes to thicken.
• If you are not looking to replace eggs, you should be able to use 2 eggs instead of the egg replacer.

Did you try my easy Halloween cupcakes? Leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram @justastastyblog and #justastastyblog!