Need a dessert for your Halloween party? Try this black velvet cupcake recipe. It’s simple, delicious, and perfect for the holiday!
Black velvet cupcakes are a twist on our favorite red velvet cake. We’ve even made a pink velvet cake that is so good too!
We’re excited to share these black velvet cupcakes that are the perfect Halloween cupcakes! They’re made using the traditional red velvet cake recipe, but use black food dye instead of red!
If you’re looking for the perfect Halloween cupcakes, our black velvet cupcakes are not only charmingly spooky but also taste great!
They’re homemade and topped with a creamy, whipped cream cheese frosting, just like a classic red velvet cake, but black! We added black food coloring to give it a deep color.
Yes, your mouth will turn black for a minute, but that’s part of the Halloween fun! Serve these at a Halloween party for kids or adults. We served them at our Trick or Treats Halloween Bar, and they’re always a hit! I just love Halloween parties!!
How to Make Black Velvet Halloween Cupcakes
Supplies
- Mixing Bowls
- Stand Alone Mixer or an Electric Hand Held Mixer
Ingredients
- Cake Flour – a low protein flour that’s milled into a fine consistency.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – adds a deep chocolate flavor
- Sugar – Granulated sugar is used as a sweetener
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – These ingredients help the bread rise, and if you want your recipe to turn out well, you should know the difference between the two.
- Salt – gives a binding or strengthening effect on gluten and thereby adds strength to any flour
- Buttermilk – adds a distinctive tang to pancakes and baked goods.
- Eggs – helps thicken and emulsify sauces and custards, add moisture to cakes and other baked goods, and can even act as glue or glaze.
- Vegetable Oil – adds moisture, richness, and tenderness
- Vinegar – Acidic vinegar balances and contrasts with fatty oil
- Vanilla Extract – a stronger, liquid form of vanilla flavoring and is often used to flavor brownies, cookies, and various cakes.
- Black Food Coloring – adds color to food.
- Cream Cheese – a soft, unripened, and slightly acid-tasting cheese with a mild diacetyl flavor
- Butter – to give richness, tenderness, and structure to cookies, cakes, pies, and pastries
- Powdered Sugar – super fine free-flowing white sugar
Directions
- For cake
recipes, it’s best to alter the dry and wet ingredients. The best way to begin is to measure out all of the liquid ingredients in one tall measuring cup and then all of the dry ingredients (everything but the sugar) in a bowl.
- Whisk the buttermilk, eggs, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, add all of the dry ingredients besides sugar since that will be mixed with the butter.
- In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high. Make sure the butter is always room temp and soft.
- Reduce the speed and add 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture.
- Add in the flour mixture and alter like this in 3 additions. Liquid, dry, liquid, dry, liquid dry.
- Scrape down the bowl between.
- Add in the black food coloring.
- Scoop the cupcake batter 2/3 of the way full into prepared cupcake tins and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15 minutes OR more, depending on your oven and location.
- Let the cupcakes cool, and make the cream cheese frosting, yum!
How do you make perfect size cupcakes?
Use a cookie dough scooper to scoop in the batter. Fill the liners 2/3 of the way full, so they have room to rise.
Try not to drip batter all over the pan and or over the cupcake liners. Tap the tin 2 times on the table before baking.
How long does it take to bake cupcakes at 350 degrees?
It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to bake a dozen cupcakes at 350 degrees. This will depend on your oven and location. Set the timer for 15 minutes to check on the cupcakes, then add more time accordingly.
Cream Cheese Frosting
These cupcakes are topped with cream cheese frosting dyed black! It’s a classic whipped cream cheese frosting recipe that goes perfectly with black velvet cupcakes.
How to Frost a Cupcake with a Piping Bag
Since these cupcakes are very easy to frost and there are no special designs, like flowers, etc., there is really no need to add a tip to the piping bag. Instead, let’s make this easy!
- Fill a piping bag with frosting, then cut about 1/2″ to 1″ off of the bottom of the bag. That makes a nice size hole to pipe frosting onto the cupcakes.
- Twist the top opening of the bag closed and, using your hand, press down on the top of the piping bag, holding it closed so the frosting doesn’t come out the top, and pipe frosting from the outer edge of the cupcake to the center.
- Cream cheese frosting can be very
creamy; if you need to firm it up, place the piping bag in the refrigerator until it’s a little more firm.
- Give the cupcakes a little swoop using the back of a spoon to lightly press down on the frosting.
How to Decorate Easy Halloween Cupcakes
- Add sprinkles! It’s the easiest way to decorate cupcakes. The eyes and pretty gold sprinkles are fun. You can also use green sprinkles and bone sprinkles too.
Tips for Making Cupcakes
- Do not over-mix once the flour is in. The mixer should be on a high to beat butter and sugar and then low for everything else, so it slowly mixes the cupcake batter.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in more food dye if the color is not your desired color.
- Use a cookie scooper to scoop the batter into a prepared cupcake tin and fill it 2/3 full.
- Always preheat the oven so the leaven can activate quickly.
- Always set the timer when cooking for less time to check on the cupcakes. You can always add more time, but you can’t go back once
overcooked . Cooking time depends on oven temperatures, brands,and even your location!
- The cupcake is done when they’ve risen, and the middle isn’t jiggly. A toothpick can come out semi-clean. I don’t like it to come out fully clean as I don’t want the cupcakes to be overcooked.
How to Store Halloween Cupcakes
The best option is to store cupcakes in an airtight container. Several cupcake carries are perfect for storing too. Check out our guide on how to store cupcakes for more information!
More Halloween Cupcakes and Desserts
Dragon Fruit Chocolate Cupcakes
Brown Butter Mummy Rice Krispie Treats
Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes by Just A Taste
Eyeball Cupcakes for Halloween by Powered by Mom
Let us know if you make these fun black velvet Halloween cupcakes! Leave a comment and review below! You can also tag @sugarnadcharm on all of our social channels!
You can also FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious recipes, cocktails, desserts, and parties!
want to save this?
Enter your email below and I’ll send it directly to your inbox!
Black Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
Black Velvet Cupcakes
- 8 tbsp butter, room temperature and soft
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cup cake flour, this is different from all-purpose flour so make sure you use cake flour.
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp white distilled vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp black food coloring , or more!
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 tbsp unslted butter , sofetned and cut into chunks. MUST be soft.
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened MUST be soft
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp black food coloring , more if needed
Instructions
Black Velvet Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vegetable oil, vinegar and vanilla in a tall liquid measuring cup, set aside.
- In another bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder set aside.
- With an electric mixer and a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium high.
- Reduce speed and then add the buttermilk mixture and flour in 3 additions, alternating.
- Add black food coloring and beat on low until everything is incorporated.
- Scoop into prepared cupcake tins 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Check on them after 12 minutes, add more time if needed.
Black Velvet Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until whipped about 2 minutes.
- Add in the cream cheese and beat on high. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the food coloring one tablespoon at a time and continue until you get the color you want.
- Add the vanilla extract and continue to beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Add to a piping bag and frost the top of each cooled cupcake.
Just made these cupcakes with my daughter, and these were absolutely amazing. They’re very moist just enough chocolate, the only thing that sets these cupcakes apart from red velvet cake is the black food coloring. I did make minor adjustments to the icing I only used 1 tablespoon of black food coloring instead of 3 and I used 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of 4 it was just enough sugar. Other than that every other step remained the same, thanks for sharing this it was perfect for me and my daughter’s annual Halloween treat.
Yay!!! Love hearing that and I am so happy they turned out for you!! Glad you and your daughter enjoyed them 🙂
I have made this recipe more than 10 times and it comes out amazing every time. i love it so much. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Oh! We love hearing this! Thank you Alexis!!
So adorable! My kids loved the black velvet frosting!
Love this idea! My kids really thought they were good too.
These are so great! I can’t think if I’ve ever had a black velvet cupcake before but I know we’d love this!
These red velvet cupcakes are a perfect treat for the kiddos! LOVED it.
These are so great – I can’t wait to make these for the kids’ parties. They are going to be a hit!