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    TaraTeaspoon » Recipes » Halloween

    Black Cat Cupcakes

    Published: Oct 17, 2014 · Updated: Aug 14, 2022 by Tara Teaspoon · This page contains affiliate and sponsored links. See my full disclosure

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    Black Cat Cupcake Pinterest pin
    Black Cat Cipcakes Pinterest Image

    Black Cat Cupcakes are chocolatey from bottom to top. They are festive and easy to decorate; you can never go wrong with a cute black cat!


    These Black Cat Cupcakes are the perfect dessert for any Halloween party! Not to mention, they are fun and easy to make with kids. If you need a school treat idea, a buffet dessert for your soirée, or just an easy, ghost-friendly treat, these cupcakes are the way to go.

    Chocolate Black Cat Cupcakes with orange cloth background

    Personally, I love making my cakes and frosting from scratch. However, if you're in a crunch, there is nothing wrong using a cake mix. I do love a good cake mix!

    For this recipe I make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, but you can also make these cupcakes with my Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting or my Extra Rich Milk Chocolate Frosting, all depending on what flavors you are going for. You are covering the frosting with chocolatey brown sprinkles so pretty much any chocolate frosting will do. 

    Jump to:
    • How to make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
    • How to decorate Black Cat Cupcakes:
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Cupcakes and frosting made from scratch are awesome, but using a cake mix is delicious, and easy too!

    The first step to making these cupcakes is to bake them! Let the cupcakes cool, and while they do, make the frosting and get your decorations together.

    When making my Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting you want to make sure your butter and cream cheese are just at room temperature. To be honest they can both be kind of cold, but you run the risk of getting clumps of butter or cream cheese not mixed in. I like to beat my cream cheese first, then add the butter. I find the cream cheese gets mixed in better this way. Add your cocoa next so that it gets perfectly incorporated into the cream cheese and butter. If you prefer you can sift it into the confectioners' sugar, but I like skipping that step.

    Follow these easy steps for making the perfect chocolate cream cheese frosting for the black cat cupcakes.

    How to make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

    • Beat butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl until creamy
    • Stir in cocoa
    • Add sugar one cup at a time, mixing well
    • Beat in vanilla and milk
    • Stir until smooth
    One Black Cat Cupcake with orange backdrop

    Decorating cakes and cupcakes feels like a grand idea, but sometimes the finished product doesn’t always look as polished as I'd like. The beauty of these Black Cat Cupcakes is that they will turn out great, despite any possible lack of decorating experience.

    Decorating black cat cupcakes is easy for home-baking with kids!

    I used chocolate sprinkles to cover the frosting, giving the little black cat cupcakes a furry look. The eyes are the cut bottoms of yellow gumdrops and the ears are chocolate melts (try the quality chocolate disks as a tasty alternative to melts) or squares cut into triangles. By turning the cut side of the gumdrops up, you get automatic, sticky glue for the licorice eyeballs. Squinty little slits of licorice laces make the eye centers and the whiskers. Make sure to cut the whisker ends on a diagonal so they are pointy!

    How to decorate Black Cat Cupcakes:

    • To make eyes, cut an ⅛-inch-thick slice off the larger end of two gumdrops, add a small piece
      of licorice lace to the cut side of each slice
    • To make ears, cut chocolate bar into triangle shapes with a paring knife
    • To make whiskers, cut licorice lace into 1½ -to 2-inch lengths
    • Frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting and coat generously with chocolate sprinkles
    • Insert ears into the icing of each cupcake
    • Add eyes and whiskers
    • Pipe a frosting nose using a #4 plain tip

    I'm excited for you to try these cute cupcakes, and for you to wow your guests at your Halloween party. If you are looking for other fun Halloween cupcake recipes, try my Polka Dot Halloween Cupcakes or my Pumpkin Marshmallows on Cupcakes.

    📖 Recipe

    Close up image of a Black Cat Cupcake for Halloween

    Black Cat Cupcakes

    Tara Teaspoon
    Black Cat Cupcakes are chocolatey from bottom to top. They are festive and easy to decorate; you can never go wrong with a cute black cat!
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Work Time 45 minutes mins
    Cook Time 45 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Servings 12 cupcakes

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 recipe Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)
    • 24 small yellow gumdrops
    • Black licorice laces
    • 12 standard-size baked chocolate cupcakes
    • 1 cup chocolate sprinkles
    • 24 chocolate Candy Melts

    Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    • ¾ cup unsalted butter (softened)
    • 1 8- oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
    • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa (sifted)
    • 1 lb 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 3 to 4 tablespoon milk

    Instructions
     

    • Fit a piping bag with a #4 plain tip and fill with ¼ cup frosting; set aside. To make eyes, cut an ⅛-inch-thick slice off the larger end of each gumdrop; add a small piece of licorice lace to the cut side of each slice. For ears, cut chocolate coating dots into triangle shapes with a paring knife. Cut licorice laces into 1 ½-to-2-inch lengths for whiskers.
    • Frost cupcakes; coat generously with chocolate sprinkles. Insert ears into the icing of each cupcake, add whiskers and eyes and pipe a frosting nose.

    Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    • In a mixing bowl beat butter and cream cheese together until creamy, about 2 min. Sir in cocoa. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing well. Beat in vanilla and milk and stir until smooth. Can be refrigerated up to one week; bring to room temperature and stir before using.

    Notes

    Using a cake mix or store-bought cupcakes makes this an easy and fun project for kids.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 832kcalCarbohydrates: 113gProtein: 6gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 221mgPotassium: 290mgFiber: 4gSugar: 95gVitamin A: 660IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 2.8mg
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     Black Cat Cupcakes are chocolatey from bottom to top. They are festive and easy to decorate; you can never go wrong with a cute black cat!

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    Tara in kitchen making salad

    Tara Teaspoon

    I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!

    More about Tara

    Recipes by Tara Bench, LHJ Oct/09. Photography Hallie Burton. Food Styling Joyce Sangirardi. Prop Styling Lynsey Freyers.

    Comments

      5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    1. Mary Bench says

      May 06, 2019 at 12:30 pm

      Cutest little cats I've ever seen!

      Reply
    2. Marie says

      April 25, 2020 at 4:35 pm

      My kids love making these cat cupcakes! The chocolate cream cheese frosting is smooth and delicious and a fun surprise!

      Reply

    Hi, I'm Tara Teaspoon!

    I’ve been sharing my original ideas for years. What began as a passion, turned into a publishing career as Food Editor at Martha Stewart Living and Ladies’ Home Journal magazines.

    Now I write cookbooks, and share delicious recipes and expert cooking tips with you here! Thanks for stopping by Tara Teaspoon!

    More about me →

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