These Halloween Confetti Cupcakes are spooky-cute, neon green, and full of sprinkles! Perfect for Halloween parties and kid-friendly fun.
It’s that time of year again, when weather cools and store shelves are lined with spooky costumes, creepy décor, and bags of Halloween candy. That’s when I start whipping up themed treats that are more adorable than terrifying. These Halloween Confetti Cupcakes are spooky-cute and colorful. With zesty lime cakes, bright buttercream swirls, and candy eyeballs staring back at you, they are practically a Halloween party in cupcake form. Best of all, they’re easy to make!
Begin with a Box of Lime Jello
Yes, really! Lime Jell-O not only gives the cupcakes their punchy lime flavor but it’s also part of the sugar content. Start by whipping up the butter with the Jell-O and granulated sugar in a stand mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time before adding the dry ingredients and milk.
Another surprising ingredient – unsweet applesauce! It’s a neutral-tasting ingredient, meaning you won’t notice any apple flavor. Instead, its main job is to keep the cupcakes moist and tender.
Add the Halloween Confetti Sprinkles
Once the batter is fully mixed, it will be pale green from the lime Jell-O. But we’re going for bold, so add in a little neon green food color to give it an eerie glowing green hue. Then, gently fold in the Stir just until the sprinkles are evenly distributed. You could also use jimmies, but the confetti sprinkles have more staying power, and won’t bleed in the batter.
Divide Between Cupcake Liners
Use a trigger-style ice cream scoop to portion the batter evenly into the lined cupcake pans. This helps the cupcakes to bake to the same size and rise consistently. Filling each liner about two-thirds full is the sweet spot (pun intended!). You’ll get beautifully even cupcakes without any messy overflow.
I always add a few confetti sprinkles to the top of the batter before baking. This is optional, but I love seeing the colors peek out from underneath the swirls of buttercream.
Bake at 350°F
Slide the pans into a preheated 350°F oven and bake for 22–25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
Buttercream in Halloween Hues
The frosting is where these cupcakes really come alive! Divide well-whipped American buttercream into three portions; tint them , , and leave one portion plain white. The bold colors give that fun “monster mash” vibe. Or, you could opt for a single icing color to make less work of these. They’ll still be cute all dressed up in sprinkles and candy eyeballs.
Pipe on Each Color of Buttercream
However, if you’re all in for the trio of hues, fit three piping bags with large closed star tips. Fill each one with a different color buttercream. Start by piping on a swirl of purple, add a layer of green, and finish with a peak of vanilla on top. This stack of color creates an effect that reminds me of candy corn in spooky hues. But feel free to layer the colors however you’d like!
No-Fuss Decorating for Halloween Confetti Cupcakes
Before the buttercream sets, sprinkle on extra Halloween confetti sprinkles and top each cupcake with candy eyeballs and/or . (How cute are ? Instant personality!) For a super easy finishing touch, add Halloween cupcake picks on top of each one. Since I was feeling extra, I added two picks. This makes them look party-ready without any extra decorating fuss.
It kind of looks like Halloween exploded on these cupcakes, doesn’t it? (Ha!) You can find the ghost, pumpkin, and skull picks in one set . I made the bat picks from and some 3″ plastic bat cut-outs from of decors.
Halloween doesn’t have to be all about scares. Sometimes the best treats are the sweet and silly ones. These Halloween Confetti Cupcakes are the perfect balance of festive, fun, and delicious. Bake a batch for your next party and watch them get spirited away!
Related Recipe:
Halloween Confetti Cupcakes
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Ingredients
Lime cupcakes
Buttercream and decors
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and dry lime gelatin. Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Fold the confetti sprinkles into the batter and immediately divide the batter between the cupcake pans. Use a standard size trigger ice cream scoop for uniform portions.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Buttercream frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the butter and confectioners’ sugar by starting the mixer on low speed. Continue on low speed and beat ingredients together until the mixture is crumbly.
- Add 1/4 cup of milk to the mixture; beat on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and mix again for another minute until light and fluffy. If the buttercream is too stiff, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is of piping consistency. Cover the buttercream in the bowl with a damp towel so it doesn’t crust.
- Remove the remaining 1/3 of vanilla buttercream to a piping bag fitted with the large closed star decorator piping tip.
- Working with one cupcake at a time, pipe on a swirl of neon purple buttercream, swirl of neon green buttercream on top of the purple, and finish with a small swirl of the vanilla buttercream. Immediately garnish the cupcake with confetti sprinkles while the frosting is still tacky. (Don’t wait too long, or the buttercream will crust and the sprinkles will bounce right off!)
- Repeat the piping until all of the cupcakes are frosted and sprinkled. Add decorative Halloween cupcake picks to each cupcake.
- Cupcakes can be stored airtight in a cupcake keeper or an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. Refrigerate for up to 5 days, but bring to room temperature before enjoying.
Notes
- Buttercream: The buttercream recipe provided is large batch to accommodate a tall triple swirl for 24 cupcakes. If you like a more modest amount of buttercream, you may half the recipe and tint the buttercream in a single hue instead of three hues.
- Piping Tips: If you don’t own three large closed star decorator piping tips (Ateco 856) as called for in the equipment section, own one, wash and reuse one between colors.
- Decorations: Candy eyeballs, bone sprinkles, and Halloween picks make decorating quick and fun. But feel free to add your own touch with gummy worms, gummy spiders, or mini pumpkins.
