Aesthetically when it comes to a Halloween sweet, you won’t find one that looks better than the serial killer cupcakes. The good news is that the delicious recipe is a lot easier to make than it looks. If you want to have everyone singing your praises at your Halloween party, or simply scared of you and your sweets, the Murder Cupcakes are sure to do the trick. In fact the only draw back to the cupcakes is that they look so good your guests may not want to eat them at all.

Difficulty: Medium

Time: 45 minutes – 1 hour (allow 3 hrs for chocolate to freeze)

What you need?

Red Velvet Cupcake base: 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 ½ cups vegetable oil, 1 cup buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons red food colouring, 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Knives: 400 g white chocolate, 200 g milk chocolate, parchment paper

Frosting / Blood: 75g butter, 550g sifted icing sugar, 4 tablespoons milk, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, red, green and yellow food colouring, red gel food colouring.

Instructions:

Knives:

The knives are the most important part of this gruesomely delicious concoction and without them it just simply won’t be the best Halloween desert at your party.

1. Draw the outlines for 12 – 24 small knives on parchment paper. Cut out the outlines with a pair of scissors. Place to one side for later.
2. Finely chop white chocolate and place in a small bowl over a pan with simmering water.
3. When chocolate melts spoon into a freezer bag and allow 10 minutes to cool.
4. While the white chocolate is cooling repeat the process for the milk chocolate.
5. Cut a tiny hole in corner of each of the bags when they have cooled.
6. Follow the stencil outline of the parchment paper knives using white chocolate for the blade and milk chocolate for the base. Note: it is possible to use a paint brush for optimum control.
7. Place knives in freezer with parchment paper attached. Freeze for 3 hours. Remove and place in fridge until cupcakes and icing have been prepared.

Red Velvet Cupcake Base:

The red velvet cupcake base works perfectly with the serial killer cupcakes because not only is it delicious but it adds a fleshy appearance to the base of your cupcakes, which is perfect for the goriest Halloween treat around.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line two 12 cup muffin pans with cupcake papers.
2. In medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder.
3. In a large bowl mix buttermilk, eggs, food colouring, vinegar and vanilla with either a hand held blender on low or a whisk.
4. Add dry ingredients to large bowl and mix thoroughly until smooth.
5. Divide batter evenly filling each cupcake paper 2/3 full with batter.
6. Bake 20 – 22 minutes and leave to cool.

Frosting / Blood:

The final step is to create that deliciously fleshy cup cake icing to plunge your chocolate knives, add a blood effect with red gel food colouring and you are guaranteed to have the coolest Halloween desert going.

1. Make buttermilk icing: beat butter until fluffy, add half of the icing sugar and beat well.
2. Slowly beat in milk and add the vanilla extract. Add additional milk if needed for spreading consistency.
3. Mix red and green food colouring in to make the icing brown. After doing this slowly add between 5 – 7 drops of yellow food colouring to lighten the brown into a tan / fleshy colour. Alternatively you can add a touch of brown sugar to the white icing to create a brown hue.
4. Use icing and spread evenly over red velvet cupcake base
5. Stick chocolate knives into the centre of each cupcake.
6. Use red food colouring gel to create the impression of stab wounds within the cake.
7. Enjoy, if you dare!