These Bleeding Black Cupcakes are delicious, black chocolate cupcakes filled with a rose flavored white chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate buttercream, tinted black. They are so much fun to make and eat!
These spooky Halloween Black Cupcakes are an easy treat, perfect for any Halloween party!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! I’m a bit late to the party with this post, but these dainty cupcakes are just perfect for Halloween, I had to share ’em! You may have also noticed that my blog is looking a little different now. Do let me know what you think of the new look. 🙂
How do you get these cupcakes to be black?
Black cocoa + black food coloring gel.
This combination helps achieve this jet black color for both the black cupcakes and the black frosting. I used my chocolate cake recipe and chocolate buttercream recipe, and replaced the dutch cocoa powder with black cocoa powder.
Usually you don’t swap dutch cocoa powder with black cocoa powder – but I tested it in this recipe and made sure it works!
I haven’t been able to find black cocoa powder in Canada yet, but if you’re in the US – you can get it easily through amazon.
What if I can’t find black cocoa powder?
If you can’t get your hands on black cocoa powder, then you will have to use black food coloring instead. You do have the option of using activated charcoal, but I haven’t used it for baked products since it can affect the texture of the cake and frosting.
For black food coloring, I used Wilton black food coloring. I usually use Americolor, but the Wilton black coloring tints much better. Also make sure to get GEL FOOD COLORING, not the watery food coloring. Gel food coloring is a lot more concentrated, and you will need much less to get that jet black color.
Rose flavored chocolate ganache
Since I wanted the center of the cupcakes to be blood red in color, I went with a white chocolate ganache which I colored red, and then flavored with rose water.
It’s a simple filling for the cupcakes, and really delicious too. Plus the sweetness of the ganache balances the cocoa flavor from the cupcakes quite well.
To get that bright, bloody red color, I mixed a few drops of TULIP RED (from Americolor) and a couple of drops of SOFT BROWN (again from Americolor). Red coloring can taste weird if used too much, but the Tulip red color gel doesn’t have a weird after taste. So it’s a great way to color your baked goods bright red.
How to make these Bleeding Black Cupcakes
Making the cupcakes is easy.
I use my chocolate cake recipe, but replace the cocoa with black cocoa powder and add black gel food coloring. The recipe will make about 30 cupcakes.
While I used regular cupcake liners, you can use fancy black cupcake liners to stay on theme as well, if you like.
Making the frosting
My chocolate buttercream frosting is incredibly creamy and delicious! However, I had to use a double batch of that frosting recipe to get all of these cupcakes frosted.
I used black cocoa instead of dutch cocoa and added some black gel food coloring to get that gorgeous jet black color.
The filling
To keep the filling simple, I just made an easy white chocolate ganache, and then colored it red. Make this ahead of time so that the ganache has time to cool down and thicken by the time you’re ready to fill the cupcakes.
Filling and decorating Halloween cupcakes
There are 3 ways to core the middle of these cupcakes.
- Cupcake corer – a specialized tool to remove the center of cupcakes.
- A melon baller – I usually use my melon baller to create a cavity in the middle – remove about 2 scoops of cake from the middle, and you’re good to go.
- A small, sharp knife – I used this method for these cupcakes. I inserted the knife tip at an angle into the middle of the cupcake, and removed a funnel-shaped portion from the center. This way, if the filling sets inside the cake, then it will look more like a heart when the cupcake is sliced in half.
Frosting the cupcakes
Fill the middle with the rose white chocolate ganache. The ganache should be really thick but still pourable.
Next, pipe the black chocolate frosting on the filled cupcakes. I went for large swirls, but you can do a simple rosette or anything that strikes your fancy!
For the large swirls, I used a large open star tip, but you can also use a large closed star tip. If you don’t have any star tips, you can use a large round tip or just a ziploc bag with the edge snipped off.
Red sprinkles Silver Sprinkles
Decorating the cupcakes
You can decorate these Halloween black cupcakes HOWEVER you want! Here are some of my favorite ways.
- Halloween sprinkles (Red & Black to go with the filling).
- Silver dragees or silver sprinkles.
- Sparkling sugar or a light dusting of luster dust.
- Drizzle of rose white chocolate ganache.
- Marshmallow webs – heat the marshmallows for a few seconds and then use your hands to stretch the marshmallow over the frosting. This looks amazing but also very sticky. Personally, it just wasn’t worth the mess for me for these cupcakes.
You can even get your kids involved with the decorating! These Halloween cupcakes are definitely a fun project to do with kids! 🙂
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Halloween Black Cupcakes
Ingredients:
Black Cupcakes
- 1 batch chocolate cake Substitute the dutch cocoa powder with black cocoa powder
- Extra black gel food coloring if needed Wilton
Black Frosting
- 2 batches chocolate buttercream substitute the dutch cocoa powder with black cocoa powder
- Extra black gel food coloring if needed
Red White Chocolate Filling
- 240 g white chocolate chips
- 100 g heavy cream (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp rose water extract
- Pinch of salt
- Tulip red gel food coloring americolor
- Soft brown gel food coloring americolor
Decorating
- Halloween sprinkles of your choice
Instructions:
White Chocolate Filling
- Make the white chocolate filling first so it has time to cool down to room temperature.
- Heat the cream + rose water extract + salt in a saucepan, until it starts to steam (near boiling, but not actually boiling).
- Add the white chocolate chips and let them sit for a few minutes, with the pan covered.
- Stir to completely melt the white chocolate chips in the cream. (All of the white chocolate chips should melt in the residual heat.)
- Add a few drops of tulip red gel food coloring and mix it in. Then add 1 or 2 drops of the brown food coloring to deepen the red color to a blood-like red. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Once cool, set aside until needed.
Black Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Place cupcake liners in 2 cupcake trays.
- Make the batter according to the recipe here. Replace the dutch cocoa in that chocolate cake recipe with the black cocoa, and mix a little black food coloring in the milk before adding it to the cake batter.
- When you have the black chocolate cake batter ready, use a 4 tbsp (or ¼ cup) cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the cupcake liners in the cupcake tray. You will have some leftover cake batter - just cover it with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Bake the two cupcake trays in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, rotating the trays once, at the 15 minute mark.
- The cupcakes will be done when a toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool down for about 5 - 10 minutes. Then gently remove them from the cupcake tray.
- Repeat with the remaining cupcake batter.
Black Frosting
- While the cupcakes are baking / cooling, make the frosting.
- Make the chocolate buttercream frosting according to the recipe here. Replace the dutch cocoa with black cocoa. Add a few drops of black food coloring if needed, at the end of the whisking stage.
- Scrape the black frosting into a large piping bag that is attached with a large open star or closed star piping tip.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- When the cupcakes have cooled down, remove a cone or funnel-shaped piece from the center of the cupcakes with a sharp knife as shown in the pictures in the post.
- Fill the cavity with room temperature white chocolate ganache.
- Frost the cupcakes with the black frosting. I like to frost them with a large swirl, but you can frost them however you like.
- Sprinkle Halloween sprinkles on top, and serve. (Note: remember to warn your guests that the cupcakes will "bleed", so that don't get “blood” on their hands! Or clothes.)
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Michelle says
Hey!! I’m excited to try this! However I’m confused on step 7 of the cupcake instruction. Where do I add the rest of the cupcake batter to? On top of the already made cupcakes? Or to another cupcake pan? Thank you for the help!
Dini says
Hi Michelle
Since this recipe makes 30+ cupcakes, the remaining batter is used to make the rest of the cupcakes.
I hope that helps!
SUSAN says
Great recipe. Quick note. You can buy Black Cocoa at Bulk Barn in Canada.
Dani says
What if I don’t have rose water? Is there a substitute for that?
Dini says
Hi Dani
Rose water is the flavoring for the ganache filling. If you don’t have it, you can leave it out or use vanilla instead.
The flavor will obviously not be rose, but a different flavor. It will visually still work.
Hope that helps.
Yvette Johnson says
I will be making these for Halloween this year, can another extract be used instead of rosewater?
Dini says
Hi Yvette!
Yes you can use vanilla extract instead of vanilla. Any extract that won’t change the color of the filling can be used, as long as it compliments the flavor of the cake and white chocolate.
I hope that helps
Natalie says
These were delicious! My ganache turned out a little too thick to get the true bleeding effect but I didn’t mind too much, still tasted and looked great. And I didn’t even have to add any food coloring to get a great deep black color!
Beth says
I’m making these very soon. Can’t wait. Can I make everything in advance and wait to assemble the cupcakes with the ganache and frosting right before serving? Thank you!
Dini says
Hi Beth
The cupcakes can be made about 3 days in advance, or longer in the freezer (in an air-tight container). The ganache and frosting can also be made about 3 – 4 days in advance and stored in the fridge.
Before assembling, you will need to let the cupcakes and frosting thaw out to room temperature. The frosting should be re-whipped to get the right consistency as well. The ganache might need to be slightly heated to be warm, so that it has a softer consistency before being used as a filling.
I hope that helps!
Beth says
Thank you Dini for all your tips and notes and great recipes! I’ll let you know how they come out! Happy Halloween!
Tisha says
I cant wait to try this. Does the frosting turn your teeth black?
Dini says
Hi Tisha
If you use black food coloring, just like other food coloring, it can turn teeth black. But it shouldn’t stain your teeth.
If you make it with only black cocoa, then it shouldn’t turn teeth black.
I hope that helps!
Christina says
These cupcakes look amazing!!! Can you make these the night before or would the ganache harden or absorb into the cupcake?
Dini says
Hi Christina
The ganache is very runny, so they might be absorbed into the cake if you make it the night before.
You can make a thicker ganache (with less cream), but this will harden in the cake overnight unfortunately.
Sophia says
Can I make the cupcake batter the night before, then add ganache the following day and frost, then serve the day after that? Or will ganache harden?
Dini says
Hi Sophia
You can make the cupcakes in advance, but I prefer to add the ganache and frost the cake before serving.
This is because the ganache can either harden (if it’s too thick), or absorbed by the cake.
I hope that helps!