These bloody broken glass cupcakes are the perfect spooky Halloween treat!! They have a rich, black cocoa cupcake base and are filled with creamy white chocolate ganache blood. Then topped with white chocolate buttercream, edible sugar glass shards, and edible fake blood!
The ganache, edible blood, and sugar glass all need at least a few hours to cool. So I recommend prepping these elements the night before if possible! This way the glass shard cupcakes are easy to assemble the next day!
If you want more spooky Halloween treats, you might also like these ghost cupcakes or these monster cookies!
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Ingredient Notes
Vegetable oil - I use oil instead of butter in these cupcakes to help keep the cake super moist and delicious! You can also use canola oil or a neutral olive oil.
Cake flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Black cocoa - Black cocoa is one of my favorite secret ingredients! Black cocoa is just cocoa powder that has been heavily dutched (meaning the acidity has been neutralized), so it gives you a rich black color but doesn't stain! You don't have to use black cocoa powder for these cupcakes, but regular cocoa just won't give you the same fun effect, so I highly recommend it! I like both the King Arthur Flour Black Cocoa or the Modern Mountain Company Black Cocoa!
White chocolate - Use white chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't melt as smoothly.
Corn syrup - You need light corn syrup for both the edible blood and glass shards!
Red food coloring - You need red gel food coloring for both the chocolate ganache filling and the edible blood. Natural food colorings can be a good option if you're worried about stains, but the color won't be as vibrant.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make White Chocolate Ganache
Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl.
Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
Pour over the chopped white chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
Then add in the red food coloring (just a couple drops at a time) and mix until your desired color is reached!
Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
How to Make Sugar Glass & Edible Blood
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, add in the sugar, light corn syrup, and water.
Over medium-low heat, gently bring to a boil and stir constantly until an instant thermometer reads 300°F.
Immediately pour onto the parchment lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer (as best you can).
Set aside and let cool until it's completely hardened (at least 2 hours).
Once hardened, use a hammer or back of a knife to break the sugar glass into large shards.
*Note: the sugar glass won't be completely clear and will have a slight yellow-ish tinge. This is normal and pretty difficult to avoid.
In a small bowl, mix together the cold water and cornstarch until fully dissolved.
Add the corn syrup to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Then stir in the cornstarch slurry and mix until well combined.
Remove from the heat and add in the red food coloring a couple drops at a time until the desired color is reached. If desired, add 1 teaspoon of your favorite flavor extract (vanilla, strawberry, cherry, etc.)!
Let the edible blood cool completely to room temperature before using.
How to Make Black Cocoa Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, black cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Then whisk in the granulated sugar and milk.
Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let the black cocoa cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of the cooled white chocolate ganache blood.
Frost with soft swirls of white chocolate buttercream and top with the sugar glass shards. Then drizzle the broken glass cupcakes with the edible fake blood!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
For chocolate cupcakes, I like to use these chocolate brown cupcake liners for a more seamless look!
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
For these big white chocolate buttercream swirls on these black cocoa cupcakes, I use the large round tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
These bloody cupcakes are super easy to decorate with the edible broken glass and edible blood! I recommend keeping some nitrile gloves on hand to help prevent stains.
Recipe FAQ's
I recommend assembling these cupcakes immediately before serving for best results! The frosted cupcakes will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. To make in advance, store the cupcakes, frosting, and chocolate ganache separately for up to 5 days in the fridge. Store the edible glass shards in an airtight container at room temperature.
I recommend using black cocoa powder if you can find it for a fun, spooky black color in these Halloween cupcakes, but you can use dutch cocoa powder instead!
Unfortunately it can stain depending on what brand of red food coloring you use, so handle with care (I always keep nitrile gloves on hand just in case)! Natural food colorings can be a good option if you're worried about stains, but the color won't be as vibrant.
Yes, they can be!! Be careful when handling because the points of the sugar glass can be sharp. Instead of biting into the sugar glass, I recommend letting it melt in your mouth like you would other hard candy!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Bloody Broken Glass Cupcakes
Special Equipment
- nitrile gloves optional
Ingredients
White Chocolate Ganache
- 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- red food coloring
Sugar Glass
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup water
Edible Blood
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cold water
- ⅓ cup light corn syrup
- ½ flavor extract , optional
- red food coloring
Black Cocoa Cupcakes
- 1 cup cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- ½ cup black cocoa powder, substitute dutch cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
White Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled
- pinch kosher salt
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed for desired consistency
Instructions
- The ganache, edible blood, and sugar glass all need at least a few hours to cool. So I recommend prepping these elements the night before if possible!
White Chocolate Ganache
- Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl.
- Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
- Pour over the chopped white chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
- Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
- Then add in the red food coloring (just a couple drops at a time) and mix until your desired color is reached!
- Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
- If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
Sugar Glass
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, add in the sugar, light corn syrup, and water.
- Over medium-low heat, gently bring to a boil and stir constantly until an instant thermometer reads 300°F.
- Immediately pour onto the parchment lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer (as best you can).
- Set aside and let cool until it's completely hardened (at least 2 hours).
- Once hardened, use a hammer or back of a knife to break the sugar glass into large shards.
- Note: the sugar glass won't be completely clear and will have a slight yellow-ish tinge. This is normal and pretty difficult to avoid.
Edible Blood
- In a small bowl, mix together the cold water and cornstarch until fully dissolved.
- Add the corn syrup to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Then stir in the cornstarch slurry and mix until well combined.
- Remove from the heat and add in the red food coloring a couple drops at a time until the desired color is reached. If desired, add 1 teaspoon of your favorite flavor extract (vanilla, strawberry, cherry, etc.)!
- Let the edible blood cool completely to room temperature before using.
Black Cocoa Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, black cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Then whisk in the granulated sugar and milk.
- Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let the black cocoa cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of the cooled white chocolate ganache blood.
White Chocolate Buttercream
- Melt the white chocolate and let cool almost to room temperature. It should be melted but cool to the touch. I prefer to melt the chocolate in the microwave in intervals of 20 seconds, stirring each time.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
- Set the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle in the melted white chocolate until it's fully incorporated into the buttercream.
- Then add in the salt and beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.
- If the frosting in too thick, add in 1-2 teaspoons of cream at a time to thin it out a bit.
- Frost the cupcakes with soft swirls of white chocolate buttercream and top with the sugar glass shards. Then drizzle the broken glass cupcakes with the edible fake blood!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Gabrielle says
PERFECT! And I’m NOT a baker but these were absolutely amazing! Tip: we put the glass in the refrigerator to cool and my daughter got the second batch out a little early it was no longer warm at all however the ones that stayed in longer were much more substantial and the ones left in not long enough started to bend and warp. The longer the better
Cara says
These were incredibly messy, but so fun!