Halloween Confetti Cupcakes
These spooky-cute Halloween Confetti Cupcakes are filled with confetti sprinkles and flavored with lime Jell-O. They are kept extra moist and fluffy thanks to the addition of unsweet applesauce in the batter. Neon green food color gives them an intense hue that helps show off all the confetti sprinkles inside. This party-sized batch of cupcakes will feed a crowd of specters, yielding about 24 cupcakes.
Equipment
- cupcake pans (2)
- purple or green cupcake liners (24)
- Large closed star decorator piping tips (3) Ateco 856
Ingredients
Lime cupcakes
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 oz. lime flavored gelatin 1 small box
- 4 large eggs
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon fine grain salt
- 1 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweet applesauce
- 1 teaspoon neon green gel food color
- 1 cup Halloween confetti sprinkles
Buttercream and decors
- 2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk plus more if needed to thin
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Neon purple soft gel food color
- Neon green soft gel food color
- 2 tablespoons Halloween confetti sprinkles
- 24 candy eyeballs
- 24 candy bone sprinkles
- Assorted Halloween-themed cupcake picks see blog post for links
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.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the creamed batter in three additions, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Blend in vanilla extract and applesauce. Add the food color and mix again until consistently neon green. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- 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 1/3 of the buttercream to a bowl and add 1/4 teaspoon of the neon purple gel food color. Fold together with a rubber spatula until consistently purple. Add more food color if needed to achieve a vibrant hue. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with the large closed star decorator piping tip. (Ateco 856)
- Remove 1/3 of the buttercream to a bowl and add 1/4 teaspoon of the neon green gel buttercream. Fold together with a rubber spatula until consistently bright green. Add more food color if needed to achieve a vibrant hue. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with the large closed star decorator piping tip.
- 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
- Lime Jell-O: This recipe calls for lime-flavored gelatin, which doubles as both flavor and part of the sugar content. If lime isn’t your favorite, try swapping with lemon or orange gelatin for a different flavor twist.
- 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.
- Food coloring: Neon gel colors give the most vibrant result without thinning the batter or frosting. Liquid food color will work in a pinch, but the color may not be as bold.
- Sprinkles: Halloween confetti sprinkles are best because they hold their shape during baking. Jimmies work too, but nonpareils (the tiny round sprinkles) tend to melt and bleed.
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce keeps the cupcakes moist without changing the flavor. You can substitute sour cream or plain Greek yogurt if you don’t have applesauce on hand.
- 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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!