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The best Halloween cupcakes
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Purple Monster Cupcakes

Purple Monster Cupcakes are the perfect Halloween-inspired treat! They are festive without being scary plus they are super simple to make. You don't need to be a professional baker to whip up these cute purple monster cupcakes!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword halloween cupcakes, monster cupcakes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 24
Calories 499kcal
Author Wendie

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 tablespoon vanilla
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs

Frosting

  • 1 - ½ cups softened butter
  • 2 cups vegetable shortening
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons extremely hot water
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • Purple food coloring

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  • Fill regular-sized cupcake tin with plain white cupcake liners, set aside.
  • In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar mix to combine.
  • Pour the vanilla into the hot water.
  • Add the oil, milk, and eggs, and water/vanilla mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is combined.
  • Use a measuring cup or spoon to scoop batter into each of the lined cupcake cavities. Only fill each cavity approx ½ - ⅔ the way full. 
  • Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Check to see if they are cooked all the way through by inserting a toothpick into one of the cupcakes, if the toothpick pulls out without any raw batter (a few crumbs are OK) then the cakes are done.
  • Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
  • While the cupcakes are cooling you can make the spiced vanilla frosting.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter and vegetable shortening until light and fluffy. 
  • While the butter is whipping, add the pumpkin spice, vanilla, purple food coloring, and salt to the extremely hot water. Let this sit for 2-3 minutes.
  • When the butter has been whipped, add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on medium speed. While it is mixing, stream in the water mixture.
  • Once combined, mix in the remaining powdered sugar, and whip until all is combined and light and fluffy.
  • Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a grass piping tip. Or you can use a zip-top bag and snip off one of the bottom corners.
  • If the frosting is too soft to pipe, put in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to cool down.
  • Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe frosting onto each cupcake. Pipe small spurts of fur all around the cupcake, then carefully place one large eyeball in the middle.
  • The set finished cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting set up or until ready to serve.
  • Serve same-day or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

1. This frosting is incredibly silky, light, and soft - it sets up to be firm once in the fridge. It is absolutely delightful, delicate with just a hint of pumpkin spice.
2. The cupcakes are moist, and just a very beginner basic vanilla - they are super versatile, you could easily add a filling! They keep best in the fridge.
3. This recipe makes a lot of cupcakes it is perfect for big events - however, it is also an easy recipe to cut in half to make smaller batches.
4. Candy Eyes

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 215mg | Sugar: 53g