Bloody Halloween Cupcakes are easy to make and deliciously spooky with raspberry jam edible fake blood (made without corn syrup!), vanilla buttercream, and soft, tender yellow cake.
This Bloody Halloween Cupcakes recipe is along the same vein as my Murder Cake (no pun intended, lol).
If you’re looking for a fun treat for a Halloween party that’s both creepy and crowd-pleasing, this is it. And they aren’t any more difficult to make than any other cupcakes!
Here we have soft, tender vanilla yellow cake with a rich vanilla buttercream and raspberry jam filling that doubles as decorative edible fake blood. They taste like buttercream-topped raspberry jam-filled donuts.
For how grotesque these Bloody Halloween Cupcakes look, they are absolutely delicious.
The Best Bloody Halloween Cupcakes Recipe
What You’re Going to Love About This Halloween Cupcakes Recipe
- They’re perfectly spooky for Halloween. Ugh, blood! Our edible blood is made mostly of raspberry jam (without corn syrup). It does a surprisingly good job of simulating blood!
- The taste. Of course these are grotesque, which makes them great for Halloween, but they’re also delicious! The soft, tender vanilla yellow cake pairs really well with the fruitiness of the raspberry jam (aka edible blood). And of course a quick and easy homemade vanilla buttercream is the icing on the cake, so to speak! It reminds me of a jelly donut.
- How easy they are to make. They’re just as easy to make as any other cupcake!
- Make as many as you want. This small batch recipe makes just 8 cupcakes, but it’s easy to double or triple if you need to feed a crowd.
Edible Fake Blood Ingredients Without Corn Syrup
- Seedless red raspberry jam
- Hot water
- Red gel food coloring
- Blue gel food coloring
Bloody Halloween Cupcakes Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Sour cream
- Flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
How to Make Edible Fake Blood Without Corn Syrup
- Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl until well-combined.
- Add more red and/or blue food coloring to achieve the right color.
Pro Tip: Instead of raspberry jam, strawberry jam will also work! However, you may need a little bit more red and/or blue food coloring.
How to Make Bloody Cupcakes for Halloween
- Cupcakes. Make the cupcake batter, scoop it into a cupcake tray lined with paper liners, and bake the cupcakes. If you’re pressed for time you can use a cake mix, but if you have a couple extra minutes, I highly recommend making this cake!
- Frosting. Whip up the frosting. Again, you can use frosting from a can, but making your own is quick, easy, and so much more delicious.
- Edible blood. Mix up the edible fake blood. It’s so easy to do without corn syrup! Our recipe is jam-based and thinned out with water. A little food coloring is optional, but helps give it a deeper blood-like color.
- Decorate them! Now comes the fun part, putting it all together! You’ll need plastic syringes, which are available on Amazon and sometimes at craft supply stores. Simply draw some of the fake blood into the syringe, insert the syringe into the center of the cupcake, and partially press down on the syringe. And voila, you have a filled cupcake with a bloody syringe! Additionally, you can drizzle a little bit of the fake blood on top.
How to Store Halloween Cupcakes
- Unfrosted Cupcakes: Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, move them to the fridge for up to an additional 3 days.
- Frosted Cupcakes: Once the cupcakes are frosted, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to soften the frosting.
- Decorated Cupcakes: Once the cupcakes are decorated with the edible fake blood, serve them within 4 hours. After that, the fake blood can start to seep into the frosting.
Equipment for This Recipe
Variations on This Recipe
- Flavor the cupcakes any way you want. These are vanilla with a very subtle hint of almond aroma, but you can use any type of extract you like.
- Play with the frosting. You can add your favorite extract to flavor it, or add food coloring to dye it.
- Swap out the raspberry jam to make the edible fake blood. If raspberry isn’t your thing, you can use another flavor of red jam. Just make sure it’s seedless and doesn’t contain fruit pulp. Or you can strain out the fruit pulp and seeds after you thin it out with hot water to make the edible blood.
Tips for Making Halloween Cupcakes
- Sour cream swap. If you don’t have sour cream, if you can use the same amount of unflavored Greek yogurt to make the cupcakes instead.
- When you’re pressed for time. If time is short and you absolutely have to decide between making homemade cupcakes or homemade frosting, make the cupcakes and buy pre-made frosting! These vanilla cupcakes are so much better than any box mix. The homemade frosting is better too, but the cake is even more so.
- The edible fake blood. Our fake blood is actually thinned-out seedless raspberry jam, so it’s a lot more delicious than corn syrup-based fake blood! I like to use a little bit of both red and blue food coloring to get it the right color, but you can omit the food coloring if you want.
- Go grotesque. Make a batch of edible bloody eyeballs to decorate the tops of these cupcakes.
More Halloween Recipes to Make
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xoxo, Faith
Bloody Halloween Cupcakes
Bloody Halloween Cupcakes are easy to make and deliciously spooky with raspberry jam edible fake blood (made without corn syrup!), vanilla buttercream, and soft, tender yellow cake.
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter slightly softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 tablespoons sour cream
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons milk plus more as needed
Edible Fake Blood:
- 1/2 cup seedless red raspberry jam
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1/2 tablespoon red gel food coloring
- 1 drop blue gel food coloring
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with 8 paper liners.
- Use a handheld electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the egg, vanilla, almond extract, and sour cream until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and beat to combine.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes.
For the Frosting:
- Use a handheld electric mixer to cream the butter in a large bowl. Beat in the vanilla and salt, and then the powdered sugar. While beating, add the milk a little at a time so that it forms frosting.
For the Fake Blood:
- Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl until well-combined. Add more red and/or blue food coloring to achieve the right color.
To Assemble the Cupcakes:
- Frost the cupcakes once they’re cool.
- Fill each syringe with Fake Edible Blood.
- Drizzle a little bit of the Fake Blood on top of each cupcake, and then insert 1 bloody syringe into each cupcake.
Video
Faith’s Tips
How to Store Halloween Cupcakes
- Unfrosted Cupcakes: Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, move them to the fridge for up to an additional 3 days.
- Frosted Cupcakes: Once the cupcakes are frosted, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to soften the frosting.
- Decorated Cupcakes: Once the cupcakes are decorated with the edible fake blood, serve them within 4 hours. After that, the fake blood can start to seep into the frosting.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Bloody Halloween Cupcakes
Amount Per Serving (1 cupcake)
Calories 455
Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 12g75%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 5g
Cholesterol 71mg24%
Sodium 116mg5%
Potassium 97mg3%
Carbohydrates 68g23%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 53g59%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 621IU12%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 43mg4%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Wow! What creative idea for a fun, spooky Halloween party treat! Awesome, Faith! 🎃👍🙀👻
How creative for a Halloween party dessert – and delicious!