Skull Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare cake batter as directed on package; blend in dry pudding mix. Spoon into 24 paper-lined 2-1/2-inch muffin cups. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool completely.
• Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add sugar gradually, beating well after each addition.
• Pull each cupcake liner partially away from cake. Place a marshmallow half between paper and cupcake to create skull's jaw. Frost cupcakes with cream cheese mixture. Decorate with chocolate chips.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make, bake and cool cupcakes as directed on box.
• Carefully pull back a small section of paper from each cupcake; insert marshmallow half between paper and cake of each. Frost tops of cupcakes and marshmallows to look like skull shape.
• For each skull cake, use 2 mint candies for eyes, 1 chocolate chip, point side down, for nose, and 6 to 8 almonds for teeth. Store loosely covered.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners, preferable dark-colored or Halloween-themed ones.
• Combine cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer on low speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed until batter is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 21 minutes. Remove from oven and cool tins on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before decorating, about 1 hour.
• Frost each cupcake with a thin layer of white vanilla frosting and refrigerate for 30 minutes to make decorating easier.
• Remove cupcakes from fridge and apply a second layer of white frosting. Fill a piping bag outfitted with a small round tip with chocolate frosting and draw a skull face on the cupcakes: pipe large ovals for the eyes, two dots for the nostrils, and a large "stitched" smile for the mouth.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups or spray with cooking spray. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for cupcakes, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In large bowl, beat butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes or until creamy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Mound about 2 tablespoons frosting on each cupcake. Using fingers, make deep indentations in sides of frosting to look like skull.
• Place 2 chocolate candies on each cupcake for eyes. Cut remaining chocolate candies in half; attach for nose with cut sides in frosting. With dampened kitchen scissors, cut each marshmallow into 5 slices; arrange slices on cupcakes to look like teeth.