Easiest ever Halloween ghost & grave cupcakes – step by step guide – inc. gluten free version

Have some fun with the kids this Halloween and make some super-spooky packet mix based cup cakes so easy a child can make them!

Halloween cup cakes even the kids can make?

Sometimes, you just can’t make things from scratch. We parents and Carer’s can get pretty time-poor, and so we need quick solutions!

Last year we had all the time in the world, and even carved our very own full-sized Mickey Mouse Disney pumpkin but this year was another story. My daughter was invited to a Halloween party, and we needed a quick-fix for Halloween treats to take along. Enter: the packet mix-based Halloween decorated cup cakes – that are also super-fast to decorate!

Halloween cupcake decorations made easy

There’s nothing like a good short-cut, and I wasn’t overly confident about making gluten free cup cakes from scratch, so I decided to cheat and bought two cup cake packet mixes. Two (each make a dozen) so that we could make both a chocolate version, and a vanilla version. Spooky graveyard and Mummies (or ghosts, if you prefer!)

Kids can make these easy Halloween cup cakes

The best thing about these Halloween treats is that they are the easiest ever to make – even children can make them!

We made our cup cakes gluten free to suit all kids dietary requirements at the party, but of course you can just use any packet mix that suits your needs, and by buying one vanilla pack and one chocolate pack you can cut out the cocoa in the below method. Easy!

Gluten free Halloween cup cake step-by-step recipe

Ingredients (Serves 24)

We bought all our gluten-free ingredients from Coles, but all of these products can also be sourced from Woolworths, IGL, Aldi and other supermarkets.
You can swap out any of the below gluten free products for standard grocery products – and they’ll probably be a bit cheaper, too!

Skip to how to make ghost and mummy Halloween cup cakes

Skip to how to make spooky grave Halloween cup cakes

Shopping list

Betty Crocker Gluten Free packet mix

2 x Betty Crocker (or other brand) gluten free cup cake packet mixes ($6 each)
To add to the cake mixes:
1/2 x 250gm stick of butter 
1 x 250ml cup of milk
6 large eggs

To decorate the cup cakes:
1 x packet of Halloween patty pan cases (purple/orange/green) ($4)
1 x Wiltshire (this cheap one has the finest point) piping bag set or a set with both a large and a very fine point for writing ($10)
1 x bag of dark chocolate chips for melting and eyes – Coles Brand ($1.50)
1/2 cup 125gms of Cocoa ($4.00 a tin – to add to one vanilla packet mix to make it chocolate for the graves)
1 x packet of Gluten Free arrowroot biscuits (not Arnotts brand – get these from the health food aisle)

Kitchen Appliances required

• A mixing bowl
• An oven, thermomix or air fryer
• Electronic cake mixer/mix master to make the cup cakes and whip the icing
• 2 x 12 cup cake baking trays (or one and bake them one batch at a time)
• A microwave & microwave safe bowl to melt the choc chips
• A piping bag capable of fine and wide piping
• A large knife

Method

Add 1/2 a cup of cocoa to one packet mix (if you have 2 vanilla packet mixes), to make one chocolate mix and leave one as vanilla.
Make up both cake packet mixes separately and bake cupcakes according to packet mix instructions (pouring the mix straight into the Halloween patty pans to bake, 20 minutes bake time on 180 degrees celcius/356 Fahrenheit).
Allow the cooked cupcakes to cool completely.

How to decorate Mummy / Ghost Halloween vanilla cup cakes

Decorating the ghost & mummy cup cakes

• Mix both cake mix vanilla butter cream icing packets together according to instructions – you’ll need the excess icing to swirl on the ghosts/mummies! Ensure your icing is a firm consistency – you don’t want them runny, so take care with the added milk!
• Spoon the icing into your piping bag.
• Use a large piping fitting (rounder for a ghost or more defined for mummy bandages) and pipe the icing on the top of the vanilla cupcakes, starting wide at the base and working your way around to a smaller head at the top – try to make them high to resemble a ghost or mummy figure! You can even criss-cross the piped icing a bit for a Mummy to resemble bandages.
• Add two chocolate chips for eyes by pressing them gently on.
  Your mummy ghost cupcakes are complete!

How to decorate RIP grave stone chocolate cup cakes

Decorating the Halloween gravestone cupcakes

• Prepare the biscuit grave stones by laying them out, flat, plain side up, ready for piping.
• Put a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and melt the chocolate chips in the microwave (for about 30-60 seconds).
• Pour the smooth melted chocolate into your (fine tipped) piping bag. If you are worried about the chocolate seizing/setting before you can do the writing, add a few drops of vegetable oil to the melted chocolate.
• Pipe the letters “RIP” onto each biscuit laid flat and wait for the chocolate to dry.
• Using a large knife, slice off the top of the cupcake level with the top of the patty pan – keep the top.
• Make a deep, narrow slit into the cake with your knife tip for the biscuit to slot firmly into.
• Crumble the inside of the sliced-off cake top in front of the biscuit grave stone to resemble “dirt” – the smaller and finer the better.
  Your RIP grave stone cupcakes are complete!

Crumble the top slice back onto the cake as “dirt”

Watch our Halloween cup cake YouTube video

Our video below is a super-fast mash up of us making our cup cakes. I think you’ll agree, the finished result is pretty cute!

I hope you enjoyed making these spooky wooky Halloween cup cakes – we certainly did, and they taste pretty great too.

Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

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