Ghosts on Halloween Carrot Cake Cupcakes—Fast and Easy!

Cute little Ghosts on Halloween Carrot Cake Cupcakes make an adorable —and not too spooky— treat for all the ghosts and goblins that come your way on Halloween. They are a fast and easy idea for Halloween cupcakes with a slightly healthy side.

Don't forget the big kids, they will love the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting!

This recipe was been a fan favorite since it was originally post on October 28, 2011!

Aren't these the most adorable Halloween cupcakes ever? When you hear how fast and easy it is to put these cute little ghosts on top of the carrot cake cupcakes, you won't be able to resist them.  

Don't worry, you still have time! The witches and goblins aren't coming down the street... yet. This cute design on my speedy recipe will get you ready for the party in no time.

My kids love Halloween! I usually have elaborate ideas about the treats I'll serve and the costumes I'll make for everyone (even the dog) floating around my in head for weeks. Then, the big day arrives.

Then the big day arrives and life, errands and deadlines creep up far too quickly.up My visions of the perfect party get scaled back until the ideas are much more manageable.

If you are anything like me, you are probably hunting for Halloween party ideas that have "knock 'em dead wow factor" tucked into a "quick and easy" package, too.

Well, these are the cupcakes for you! They are definitely "knock 'em dead" and definitely "quick and easy.

These cupcakes are a great Halloween dessert on their own or put them on snack table with this fast and easy Hocus Pocus Popcorn and other treats.

How to Make Ghosts on Halloween Carrot Cake Cupcakes

(see video below)

First, make the carrot cake cupcakes. For speed and easy clean up, I turned a spice cake mix into a carrot cake cupcakes by adding shredded carrots, crushed pineapple and chopped walnuts (the carrot cake cupcakes recipe is at the bottom of this post). Let them cool.

Sometimes, a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do to save time and get the job done. I don't always have time to bake from scratch.

Please feel free to use your own recipe if you don't like using a cake mix or if you have a favorite cupcake recipe of your own.

Next, make the cream cheese frosting- The frosting for these little ghosts is a straight forward white cream cheese icing.

Be sure to take the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge while you are mixing the cupcake batter and baking the cupcakes so you won't have to wait for it to come to room temperature.

How to Pipe Ghosts onto Halloween Cupcakes

Prepare the Pastry Bag

First, fit a large pastry/pipping bag with a large round tip ( I used 2d). A coupler is nice to use so that you can change tips easily.

Next, fill the bag with cream cheese frosting.Fill a large pastry piping bag fitted with a large round tip with the cream cheese frosting.

Start piping a line of frosting in the center of the cupcake. Draw your line to the outside, not quite the edge, of the cupcake.

Pipe a circle around the outer cupcake almost to the edge.

With a continuous line, pipe the frosting in progressively smaller circles one on top of the other until you get a shape like a pointy hat. This should take between 3 and 4 layers of circles. (see the attached video below)

Budget Friendly Tip: If you don't have a pastry bag, just cut a small triangle off of one of the corners of a zip bag and use that as a pastry bag.

Decorate the Ghost Cupcakes

Now comes the fun part.

Decorate the ghost cupcakes with eyes and a mouth.

I used chocolate covered pomegranate seeds for the eyes and mouth of theses little ghosts.

If you can't find them at your favorite store, don't worry. There is no need to make a special trip, just use mini-chocolate chips and push the pointy end into the frosting. Try slightly melting a few of them on waxed paper so they aren't perfectly round. The more lopsided they are, the cuter your ghosts will be.

You can also color a little bit of the frosting black or brown and pipe the eyes and nose onto the ghost cupcakes.

Tools Needed for This Recipe

(These are Amazon links)

Here is a link to the pastry bag and tips I use to pipe ghosts on these Halloween Carrot Cake Cupcakes.

Basic Cake Decorating Kit that includes a variety of tip shapes in several sizes, a small case to keep them in (big plus for me) and two reusable pastry bags, etc...

18" Disposable Pastry Bags- I often use the disposable bags because it is much easier clean up. ( I like the 18 inch or even 24 inch bags piping these cute little ghosts, you don't have to refill the bag as often).

Big Tip for Faster Clean Up

Tip - When using a disposable pastry bag, I just use my scissors to snip a hole in the disposable pastry bag closest to the tip or coupler. That way, I can remove the tip a nd coupler without sticking my hand into the messy bag. It's so Quick and Easy!

Print the recipe here-

Ghosts Halloween Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Sandy

This is a quick and easy way to turn a spice cake mix into a carrot cake.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 cupcakes

Equipment

• Cupcake pan
• Cupcake paper liners
• Piping bag
• cake decorating tip size 2d or large tip

Ingredients

  

• 1 package spice cake mix without pudding I use Duncan Hines
• 1 package Jello Brand vanilla pudding 4 serving size
• 1 cup water
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups carrots shredded
• 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple drained
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• Frosting
• 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
• 8 oz butter room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 chocolate covered pomegranates
• or mini-chocolate chips per cup cake

Instructions

 

• Mix together the cake mix, pudding, eggs, oil, and water. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Fold in shredded carrots, pineapple and nuts.
• Spoon batter into cupcake papers.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
• Cool.
• Beat together cream cheese and butter.
• Slowly add powdered sugar.
• Beat until fluffy.
• Mix in vanilla.
• Spoon frosting into pastry bag or zip bag (cut off one corner).
• Pipe a mound of frosting in the center of each cooled cupcake.
• Pipe a spiral circle around the base of the frosting mound and pushing out to the edge of the cup cake. Make the circles smaller as you go up. Pull the pastry bag away leaving a little "tail" at the very top.
• Place pomegranate seeds or chocolate chips in the position of eyes and mouth.

Keyword Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Ghost Cupcakes, Halloween Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Hope you have fun with this easy recipe!

—posted by Sandy