One of my all time favorite holiday movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I loved it as a kid (and still do) and now my kids love it too. These Nightmare Before Christmas Cupcakes are the cutest Halloween (or Christmas) desserts ever! These cupcakes are my all time favorite with red velvet cupcake and cream cheese frosting!

These would be great for school parties and even your own Halloween party as little favors.

How To Make Nightmare Before Christmas Cupcakes

First, gather all your ingredients.

FOR THE RED VELVET CUPCAKES: 

• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk, shaken (homemade recipe below)
• 1 & 3/4 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon red gel food coloring
• 10 tablespoons (1 & 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (MAKES 2 CUPS):

• 1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese, slightly softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 & 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

BLACK DECORATING ICING:

• Wilton Ready-to-Use Icing Tube Decorating with a standard coupler and tip #2 OR Wiltons Icing Writing Black Pen

FOR THE RED VELVET CUPCAKES:

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring.

In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the eggs one at a time, beat until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture, beating until just blended after each addition.

Divided the batter evenly among the liners and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners sugar, add beat until incorporated.

Increase the speed to medium, add the vanilla, and beat until fully blended, 1 to 2 minutes, making sure not to incorporate too much air into the frosting.

Frost cupcakes and decorate with Jacks face using a Wilton Ready-to-Use Icing Tube Decorating with a standard coupler and tip #2 OR Wiltons Icing Writing Black Pen. I was able to find the Wilton Ready-to-Use Icing Tube Decorating at my local Walmart store and the Wiltons Icing Writing Black Pen at my local Target Store. I already had the standard coupler and tip #2 but you can find that at your local craft store like Michael’s or Joann’s.

I first practiced pipping Jacks face, the spider web, and the hat a few times on parchment paper before I actually pipped it on the cupcakes. You can go here to see how to make the spider web design.

How To Bake As A Cake

Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper cut to fit, and butter (I like to use non stick cooking spray) the parchment paper.

Flour the pans, coating the bottom and sides of each pan, then tap out the excess flour.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake until the tops are dry to the touch, the sides of the cake start to pull away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Generally you bake the cakes at the same baking time as the cupcake recipe.

Let the cakes cool on a wire rack, then remove each cake from its pan, discard the parchment paper, and set one cake layer on a cake round, frosting turntable, or the final serving platter.

Frost the top of that cake layer with the frosting, stack the second layer on top, frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.

How To Make Homemade Buttermilk

All you need is whole or 2-percent milk and fresh lemon juice or white distilled vinegar.

• Pour the milk into a liquid measuring cup.
• For every 1 cup of milk, stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.
• The acid will curdle the milk slightly.
• Use the thickened milk — curds and all — just as you would buttermilk in your recipe.

Tips & Tricks

• You can substitute the buttermilk with any kind of milk. Even non-dairy milk like almond or rice milk works. Simply mix it with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to make 1 cup.
• My favorite go-to baking book is The Sprinkles Baking Book: 100 Secret Recipes from Candace’s Kitchen.
• I prefer using gel-based food coloring instead of liquid food coloring. I feel as if the gel-based food coloring gives a more vibrant color. You also do not have to use as much as you would if you were using a liquid food coloring. I remember using almost the whole bottle of liquid red food for one batch of cupcakes, so now I just stick to the gel-based food coloring for my cake mixes and frostings.
• I love using Wilton baking pans. I feel like they are the best quality pans out there for the price. They don’t rust, are durable, and easy to clean. For muffins or cupcakes, I love using the 24 count muffin tin. It is so awesome! I love how you only need to use the oven once instead of twice with a 12 count muffin tin. My time is precious to me, as it probably is for you too, so saving time in the kitchen is key. I found all my Wilton baking essentials at my favorite store, TARGET!
• For all-purpose flour I love using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour. I first fell in love with this brand when I started eating healthy back in 2012, shortly after our twins were born. I first tried their Steel Cut Oats. Then when I had more time to bake I started using a lot of their other products such as, Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Gluten Free Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Pastry Flour, Bread Flour, and Xanthan Gum. They have so much more too! Baking mixes, Oats, Bars, Cereal, Granola, Grains, Beans, Seeds, Baking Aids, and more Flours! Seriously go check them out. Best quality baking products out there and no I am not getting paid to say this, I just love their products that much!
• Since I bake quite often I like to buy stuff in bulk. I love buying my flour, sugars, pure vanilla extract, butter, oil, eggs, and spices at Costco.
• Costco, Target, & Amazon are my favorite stores to shop at!

Make sure you post your photos on Instagram and tag me in them so I can see your creations from my blog #eazypeazylemonsqueezee

Nightmare Before Christmas Cucpcakes

Adapted from The Sprinkles Baking Book: Red Velvet Cupcakes

By: Tammie

• March 22, 2019
• 1H
• 1 hr
• Print this

Ingredients

• FOR THE CUPCAKES:
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1 & 3/4 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon red gel food coloring
• 10 tablespoons (1 & 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (MAKES 2 CUPS):
• 1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese, slightly softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 & 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• BLACK DECORATING ICING:
• Wilton Ready-to-Use Icing Tube Decorating with a standard coupler and tip #2
• OR
• Wiltons Icing Writing Black Pen

Directions

Step 1

FOR THE RED VELVET CUPCAKES: Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Step 3

In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring.

Step 4

In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer , beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 5

Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the eggs one at a time, beat until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 6

Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture, beating until just blended after each addition.

Step 7

Divided the batter evenly among the liners and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting and decorating.

Step 8

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING: In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.

Step 9

Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners sugar, add beat until incorporated.

Step 10

Increase the speed to medium, add the vanilla, and beat until fully blended, 1 to 2 minutes, making sure not to incorporate too much air into the frosting.

Step 11

Frost cupcakes and decorate with Jacks face using a Wilton Ready-to-Use Icing Tube Decorating with a standard coupler and tip #2 OR Wiltons Icing Writing Black Pen!