Monster Cupcakes

These adorably cute and slightly spooky Halloween Monster Cupcakes are sure to delight kids of all ages. Each brightly colored cupcake is wrapped in an edible chocolate wrapper and is decorated with candy googly eyes.

If you are hosting a Monster-themed Halloween party, these cupcakes will be the star of the show! Seriously, how cute are they?

Halloween is the perfect time to make monster-themed appetizers and desserts. I can't wait to share these cupcake monsters along with Mini Monster Cheese Balls, Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Monsters, and Rice Krispie Treat Monsters this Halloween.

This is my favorite monster-themed treat I've made to share with you so far. I love that each cupcake is wrapped in a brightly colored modeling chocolate wrapper so the cupcake wrapper is completely edible. How fun is that?

It's been a while since I've made edible cupcake wrappers out of modeling chocolate (also known as candy clay) and I thought Halloween was the perfect time to revisit this fun cupcake idea.

If you have never made modeling chocolate, now is the time to give it a try.

First, you need to make your brightly colored candy clay.

Ingredients

candy melts (in a variety of colors) - It's easiest to use colored candy melts but you could also color white candy clay using food coloring. See instructions for coloring your modeling chocolate on my chocolate tips page.
corn syrup - Adding corn syrup to the candy melts turns the chocolate into moldable clay.
cupcakes - You'll wrap the candy clay around your favorite cupcakes. You can make homemade cupcakes or use store-bought cupcakes. Just remove them from the paper wrapper before wrapping them in the modeling chocolate.
frosting - You will frost the tops of your cupcakes either using colored frosting to match your cupcake wrappers or using white frosting sprinkles with colored sugar.
candy eyes - Decorate your cupcakes using jumbo candy eyes or bloodshot candy eyes or just make eyes using white and black modeling chocolate.

Supplies

instant-read thermometer
short lollipop sticks (or cut long sticks)
cupcake wrapper template - Print this out and use it as a guide to cut out your modeling chocolate cupcake wrappers.
pizza wheel or knife
silicone mat
fondant roller or rolling pin
small round cutters
pastry bags fitted with fur tip

Here are some of the products I used to create these cupcakes monsters that are available on Amazon.com (I earn a small commission when you use the links below to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.)

Instructions

Making colored candy clay using candy melts.

1. Pour the candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Heat on high power for three 30-second increments, stirring after each.
3. Allow the candy melts to sit for 2 minutes, then stir until melted.
4. If not completely melted, heat on high for 15-second increments, stirring after each until melted.
5. Now, the MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO allow the candy coating to cool to between 91 and 92 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring frequently until cooled properly.
6. Pour in corn syrup.
7. Stir slowly until well incorporated.
8. Wrap the modeling chocolate in plastic wrap and place it in a zip-top bag or airtight container.
9. Allow to dry for at least 30 minutes before using.

Once you have your modeling chocolate (candy clay) made you can decorate your Monster Cupcakes.

*Each cupcake wrapper will use approximately 1 ½ ounces of modeling chocolate but you will need more to be able to roll it out and cut it into the cupcake wrapper shape.

Making the candy clay wrappers.

Cupcake Wrapper Template

• Print a copy of this cupcake wrapper template (click here.) BE SURE TO PRINT IT IN LANDSCAPE MODE.
• Cut out around the template. Wrap it around one of your cupcakes, to see if it is the right size.
  • You need the paper template to overlap at the ends by at least ½ inch to allow room for the thicker modeling chocolate wrapper, so adjust the template as needed. Re-size then cut out a new template.

Candy Clay Cupcake Wrappers

• Roll out one color of your candy clay to about ⅛th inch thickness.
• I find it easiest to roll my modeling chocolate out on a Wilton Easy Flex Silicone Mat using a non-stick silicone rolling pin or a fondant roller. The mat is perfectly smooth so it won't leave any marks on your modeling chocolate and its non-stick surface is perfect.
• If you don't have a silicone mat you can roll out the candy clay on a gallon size zip top bag or on a cutting board that has been dusted lightly with powdered sugar or corn starch.
• Once you've rolled out the candy clay use a pizza cutter to cut out around the paper template.
• Then wrap the candy clay strip around the cupcake sealing the edges with a tiny bit of water or piping gel.

Making furry monsters.

• Use a multi-opening pastry tip (also referred to as a grass tip or fur tip) to add colorful frosting fur to your cupcakes.
• It is so fun making fur. Just frost the cupcake with a little frosting, then pipe fur all over the top by squeezing the pastry bag then letting go and pulling away to create wisps of fur.
• You'll notice in the video tutorial that I didn't bother adding a layer of frosting under the frosting fur. If the fur sticks to your cupcakes then you can skip the step too. Sometimes it's difficult to get the frosting to stick unless there is some frosting on the cupcake.

Adding the decorations.

Roll out the modeling chocolate and use small cookie cutters and plunger cutters to create googly eyes and silly grins for your monsters.

Eyes

• When making the eyes, be sure to keep the modeling chocolate about ½ thick so that you can easily insert lollipop sticks.
• For some of the eyes, I cut circles out of the colored modeling chocolate and then simply pressed some jumbo candy eyes into the circle. Wilton has some creepy bloodshot (the blue monster) or yellow eyes (the green monster) which are great for these cupcake monsters. The other eyes on my monsters are created out of modeling chocolate.

Mouth

• To make the modeling chocolate monster mouth, roll out black candy clay to about 1/16th inch thickness.
• Cut using an oval cutter for an open mouth.
• Cut out a circle then cut into that circle using a knife or the same round cutter to create a smiling monster cupcake.

Teeth

• Roll out white modeling chocolate to about 1/16th inch thickness.
• Cut teeth (pointed, square, or rounded) using plunger cutters, a knife, or small metal cutters.

Attaching the modeling chocolate pieces together.

• Brush a light amount of water or clear piping gel on the pieces to use as edible glue.
• I love using Wilton's Water Brush as it holds water in the pen. You can just wet the tip of the brush and brush it over the candy clay.
• In the video below you'll notice I squeeze some water out onto my silicone mat and dip the tip of the brush into it. I do that just to show you that I'm using water. I usually just squeeze the brush just enough to allow some water to drip off the tip then use the wet tip to brush over the modeling chocolate pieces.
• You can also use clear piping gel. I do recommend using the piping gel if your modeling chocolate cupcake wrappers are not holding well along the seam.

Video

Watch the video to see how to make these cute Halloween cupcakes.

Related Recipes

You might also like these other monster-themed recipes.

Mini Cheese Ball Monsters

Hand-painted Lollipops

Rice Krispie Treat Monsters

If you want to make more Halloween cupcakes be sure to check out my Vampire Cupcakes, Werewolf Cupcakes, and Black Cat Cupcakes.

Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Print

Candy Melts Modeling Chocolate

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

2 mins

Total Time

12 mins

 

Make modeling chocolate using two ingredients to create edible cupcake wrappers and other fun edible decorations.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: modeling chocolate

Keyword: candy clay, fondant, modeling chocolate

Servings: 1 batch

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

• 1 - 12 ounce bag Wilton Candy Melts*
• ¼ cup corn syrup plus more if needed
• *If using a 10 ounce bag of candy melts start with 3 ½ tablespoons of corn syrup.

Instructions

1. Pour the candy melts into a microwave safe bowl.
2. Heat on high power for three 30 second increments, stirring after each.
3. Allow the candy melts to sit for 2 minutes, then stir until melted.
4. If not completely melted, heat on high for 15 second increments, stirring after each until melted.

5. Now, the MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO allow the candy coating to cool to between 91 and 92 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring frequently until cooled properly.

6. Pour in corn syrup.
7. Stir slowly until well incorporated.
8. Pour mixture out onto a counter top, preferably marble or granite.
9. Knead until glossy and smooth.
10. Wrap the modeling chocolate in plastic wrap and place in a zip top bag or airtight container.
11. Allow to dry for at least 30 minutes before using.
12. Modeling chocolate will keep for several months, if stored properly.

• Author
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Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

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