Stabbed and dripping with blood, Halloween desserts don’t get more gruesome than these gruesome bloody cupcakes. Red velvet cupcakes get topped with creamy cream cheese frosting and finished off with edible fake blood for the ultimate Halloween treat.
Halloween is right around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about parties and all the spooky treats and Halloween party food that can be served, like these bloody Halloween cupcakes.
If you want something as creepy as it is delicious, this bloody cupcake recipe is the perfect Halloween treat for you.
Perfectly moist red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting… and of course lots of fake edible blood. It is Halloween after all.
Now we added an edible knife decoration to the top of each cupcake as a finishing touch- but this is entirely optional. The delicious bloody cupcakes are great either way.
Rather than making homemade red velvet cupcakes, this easy recipe is simple to make by doctoring up a boxed cake mix and adding some creamy homemade cream cheese frosting.
These cupcakes are not just great for Halloween parties – they are also the perfect dessert for Walking Dead parties or zombie-themed parties. Or any spooky event of horror-themed party!
For more bloody dessert recipes check out Bloody Halloween Bones Bark and Bloodshot Monster Eyeball Donuts.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Let them cool completely: Allow your cupcakes to cool completely before frosting them. If they are still warm, the frosting will melt and slide off.
Pipe frosting: For bakery-style cupcakes use a piping bag and a large round tip or star tip to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
Add blue: For a more authentic blood color, try adding a drop of blue gel food coloring to the edible blood.
Skip the baking: For a shortcut buy red velvet cupcakes from the bakery- then all you have to do is decorate them (and that’s the fun part!)
Bloody Red Velvet Cupcakes FAQ
Yes, you can make them in any flavor you would like. Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream would be fantastic. You could even add a small amount of black food coloring to the cake batter for black cupcakes with white frosting.
Yes, you can make your cupcakes ahead of time and store them unfrosted in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the cupcakes for up to 3 months and thaw them before frosting, decorating, and serving.
More Halloween Recipes
Bloody Cupcakes
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For the Red Velvet Cupcakes
- 15.25 ounces red velvet cake mix, 1 box
- 1¼ water, or as called for on the cake mix
- ½ vegetable oil, or as called for on the cake mix
- 4 eggs, or as called for on the box + 1 extra
- 3.9 ounces chocolate instant pudding mix, 1 box
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
For the Blood
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon water, or as needed
- 1 Tablespoon red gel food coloring, or as needed
Optional Decoation
- 1 package of Knife Icing Decorations, optional
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix ingredients as called for on the box. Stir in the dry pudding mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Spoon the cupcake batter into the lined cupcake tins until 2/3 of the way filled. Bake as directed on the box.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the cupcake pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool fully.
Make the frosting
- Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and mix until smooth and combined.
- Frost the fully cooled cupcakes using a pastry bag and large tip or with a butter knife.
Make the Edible Blood
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the corn syrup, and cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon of water.
- Mix in the red food coloring.
- Add a little bit of additional water to thin, if needed.
Decorate
- If using, place a knife decoration into the center of each cupcake.
- Drizzle the blood over the top of the cupcakes or dip a basting brush into the blood and shake the brush towards the cupcakes for a blood splattered effect (this can get messy).
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by a third party and intended to serve as an estimate only. The accuracy of nutritional information is not guaranteed.
These are really cute and look yummy too. I’m loving the cup cake papers and tiny knives too.
These are so much fun and perfect for Halloween!
Thank you for sharing this! It looks absolutely incredible! I cant wait to try it.