Nothing screams Halloween like Black Velvet Cupcakes! These moist chocolatey cupcakes are the perfect Halloween bake for the spooky season.
These Halloween cupcakes are made from a traditional red velvet recipe with the addition of black cocoa powder and a touch of black food coloring for extra drama. These dark cupcakes are swirled with a fluffy black buttercream frosting and topped with edible pumpkins.
I love making this cupcake recipe for Halloween but you could definitely leave off the pumpkins and use this recipe year-round.
If you love chocolatey cupcakes try out this recipe for Salted Caramel Cupcakes or this recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with Lindt Frosting.
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Ingredients
You will need the simple ingredients listed below to make this black velvet cupcake recipe. Remember always to use fresh, room temperature ingredients when baking.
- Sunflower oil
- Extra-large eggs
- Granulated white sugar
- Cake flour
- Black cocoa powder
- Full cream buttermilk
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- White vinegar
- Powdered sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Heavy cream
- Black food coloring
Sunflower oil – for this recipe I recommend using sunflower oil, but you can also use any other neutral-tasting vegetable oil.
Extra-large eggs – for this recipe I have used extra-large eggs. These eggs weigh about 64 grams out of their shell. If you don’t have extra large eggs, rather weigh the eggs you have and then work out if more eggs need to be added.
Black cocoa powder – you will need black cocoa powder to achieve the rich black color of the cupcakes and the frosting. If you can’t find black cocoa powder use normal cocoa powder, you will just need to add more food coloring.
Black food gel – if you are using black cocoa powder you can choose to omit the food coloring if you’d prefer not to use it. I like adding it for the rich black color it gives when combined with the black food coloring.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the steps below to make these black velvet cupcakes. First, you will be making the black cupcake recipe and then the black frosting.
Instructions for cupcakes
STEP 1: Beat eggs, sugar, and oil. Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
STEP 2: Add dry ingredients. Sift together the salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, and flour. Add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
STEP 3: Add buttermilk and vanilla. In a large jug combine the buttermilk and vanilla, and slowly pour this into the cupcake batter with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
STEP 4: Add food coloring. Add about ½ a teaspoon of black gel food coloring to the cupcake batter and beat again until well combined and dark in color.
STEP 5: Add vinegar and baking soda. In a small bowl combine the baking soda and white vinegar, add this to the cupcake batter and fold this through with a rubber spatula.
STEP 6: Bake. Divide the batter between the 24 cupcake liners, filling them ⅔ of the way up the liner. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Instructions for frosting
STEP 1: Beat butter, cocoa powder, and icing sugar. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter, cocoa powder, and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
STEP 2: Add cream and vanilla. In a jug combine the cream and vanilla, with the mixer's motor running at low speed slowly add the cream mixture. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.
STEP 4: Add food coloring. Add about ½ a teaspoon of black gel food coloring to the frosting and beat again until well combined and dark in color.
STEP 5: Decorate. Fill a prepared piping bag with the frosting and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Decorate the top of each cupcake with edible homemade or store-bought pumpkins. Enjoy!
Hint: Always use room temperature butter when making frostings, this way you will get a fluffy easy-to-pipe buttercream.
Equipment
For this recipe, you will need x2 12-hole cupcake pans, 24x paper liners, a disposable piping bag, a piping nozzle, and an electric mixer.
I prefer using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make the buttercream as they help ensure a fluffy frosting.
Storage
Cupcakes cool quickly so try to frost them the same day that they are baked. This helps prevent them from drying out. If you don’t have time to decorate the cupcakes the same day as baking them, store them in an airtight container or cover the cupcake trays in plastic wrap until the next day.
Once the cupcakes are frosted keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days out of direct sunlight. If the weather is particularly hot, choose to store them in the fridge and bring them to room temperature before eating them.
Top tips for best results
- Check the true temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer. If you think your cupcakes are baking too quickly rather set the oven to a lower temperature.
- Always use room temperature ingredients when baking.
- Be sure to whip the buttercream for long enough before adding it to the piping bag for decorating.
- Only decorate cooled cupcakes.
FAQ
Depending on where you live, this isn’t the easiest ingredient to find. So just use normal cocoa powder and a bit of black gel food coloring to get a deep black color.
This could be because your oven is too hot or more likely that you have overfilled the cupcake cases. Make sure that you are only filling them ⅔ of the way up the paper otherwise you will get a ‘lip’ around the cupcake.
I’d love to see how you decorated your moist black velvet cupcakes so please get in touch on social media @with_love_kitty and send me some pics!
Please don’t forget to leave a star rating and comment below if you made this recipe, it means so much to me
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Black Velvet Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2x 12-hole cupcake pan
Ingredients
Black Velvet Cupcakes
- 120 ml sunflower oil
- 250 grams granulated white sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs
- 260 grams cake flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 25 grams black cocoa powder
- 300 ml buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon black food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Black Frosting
- 160 grams unsalted butter
- 450 grams icing sugar
- 50 grams black cocoa powder
- 85 ml heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon black food coloring
Instructions
Black Velvet Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two cupcake trays with cupcake papers.
- Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Sift together the salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, and flour. Add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
- In a large jug combine the buttermilk and vanilla. Slowly pour this into the cupcake batter with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
- Add about ½ a teaspoon of black gel food coloring to the cupcake batter and beat again until well combined and dark in color.
- In a small bowl combine the baking soda and white vinegar, add this to the cupcake batter and fold this through with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the batter between the 24 cupcake liners, filling them ⅔ of the way up the liner. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Black Frosting
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter, cocoa powder, and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- In a jug combine the cream and vanilla, with the mixer's motor running at low speed slowly add the cream mixture. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.
- Add about ½ a teaspoon of black gel food coloring to the frosting and beat again until well combined and dark in color.
- Fill a prepared piping bag with the frosting and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Decorate the top of each cupcake with edible homemade or store-bought pumpkins. Enjoy!
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