Description
Bloody Eyeball Cupcakes are a spooky and delicious dessert perfect for Halloween or themed parties. These red velvet cupcakes have a surprise cherry filling at the center, topped with creamy cheesecake frosting and decorated with red sparkle gel and eyeball candies for a creepy effect.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 1 box red velvet cake mix, plus ingredients on back of box
- 1 small box cheesecake instant pudding mix
- About 1 cup cherry pie filling
Frosting
- 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 stick butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbsp cream or milk
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
Decoration
- Red sparkle food gel
- Eyeball gumballs (or another eyeball candy)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with about 16 liners and set aside.
- Mix Batter: In a large bowl, prepare the red velvet cake mix according to package directions until smooth and combined. Stir in the cheesecake pudding mix until incorporated.
- Bake Cupcakes: Evenly portion the batter among the muffin tins, filling about 3/4 full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with light moist crumbs. Cool completely.
- Core Cupcakes: Using a small paring knife, gently remove the center of each cupcake and discard the pieces to create a cavity.
- Fill Centers: Spoon cherry pie filling into each cupcake cavity, aiming for at least 2 cherries per cupcake. Set aside.
- Make Frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and cream with a stand mixer paddle attachment for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Pipe Frosting: Fill a piping bag fitted with a large open-circle tip with the frosting. Pipe high swirls to completely cover the cherry-filled centers of each cupcake.
- Decorate: Use red sparkle food gel to draw squiggly lines down the sides of each frosted cupcake. Top each with an eyeball gumball and serve.
Notes
- Ensure cupcakes are completely cool before coring to avoid crumbling.
- You can substitute cherry pie filling with strawberry or raspberry preserves for variation.
- If you don’t have eyeball gumballs, use round white candies with an edible marker to create eyeball designs.
- Adjust powdered sugar quantity to achieve desired frosting consistency.
- For easier filling, use a small melon baller or cupcake corer tool instead of a paring knife.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 34 g
- Sodium: 280 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
