Monster Eyeball Cupcakes – A Creepy Halloween Treat!
Home » COOK » Recipes » Holiday Recipes » Halloween Recipes »What’s better than a cupcake? A Monster Eyeball Cupcake! These creepy treats are perfect for Halloween!
Imagine the delight (and screams!) when you serve these spooky cupcakes at your Halloween party. They’re easy to make, colorful, and a great conversation starter.
Whether you’re looking for a fun dessert for your family or a treat to impress guests at a Halloween party, these Monster Eyeball Cupcakes are sure to be a hit!
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Where is the Recipe Card?
The printable recipe card is toward the end of this post. We recommend reading through the blog post for tips, substitutions, and serving suggestions.
Monster Eyeball Cupcakes Recipe:
Number of Servings: 12
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 20 minutes | Decorating: 30 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
What Are Monster Eyeball Cupcakes?
Monster Eyeball Cupcakes are a perfect Halloween dessert. They combine rich, moist triple chocolate cake with colorful frosting and a creepy candy eyeball on top!
These cupcakes are great for trick-or-treating gatherings or a fun baking project with the kids.
The bright neon colors and eye-catching design make them perfect for spooky settings—whether serving them at a haunted house party or enjoying them at home while watching scary movies (and a game of Halloween Horror Movie Bingo!)
Pair them with Halloween Cocktails or enjoy them as dessert at a Halloween dinner—scroll past the recipe card for our dinner party menu suggestions.
Check out our annual series, Crafty October, for more awesome Halloween ideas!
Ingredients for Monster Eyeball Cupcakes
The ingredients and tools for this recipe are conveniently linked to online retailers such as Amazon, Amazon Fresh, Instacart, and Walmart. The quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Box of Triple Chocolate Cake Mix—The regular, added ingredients are changed to butter, milk, and eggs to enrich the cake mix.
- Powdered Sugar—Also known as Icing Sugar and Confectioner’s Sugar.
- Vanilla Extract—Always buy good vanilla; it makes a flavor difference.
- Heavy Cream—Also known as Double Cream. Gives the frosting a smooth and creamy texture.
- Trolli Glotzer—The perfect creepy candy eyeballs for decoration.
- Gel Food Coloring in the following bright, spooky colors:
The complete list of ingredients with measurements is on the recipe card at the end of this post. The Purple Pumpkin Blog uses both cups and weighted measurements in its recipes, making American cups and kitchen food scales valuable tools for trying all the recipes. We provide US customary, imperial, and metric measurements. Still, it’s important to note that while you can combine cup measurements with weighted measures, never mix US customary/imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.) with metric (kilograms, grams, liters, etc.).
Cupcake Decorating Equipment
In addition to cupcake baking equipment—Mixer (standing or handheld), Rubber Spatula, Cupcake Liners, Cupcake Pan, and Wire Cooling Rack—you will also need:
- Ice Cream Scoop—A handy tool to divide cupcake batter and frosting equally.
- Piping Bags—You will need three piping bags. You can use disposable or reusable bags.
- Large Round Piping Tips—For example, Wilton 1A. You will need two of this size for the two different-colored frosting layers.
- Medium Round Tip—For example, Wilton #8 or #10. You will need one of these sizes for the pink dripping frosting.
Cupcake Making Tips
- These cupcakes are made using a box of cake mix—the flavor is enriched with butter, milk, and eggs instead of the usual oil, water, and eggs.
- For the best results, use room-temperature ingredients for a smoother batter. This results in even mixing and better air-trapping, giving your cake a softer, fluffier texture.
- You can use your choice of cupcake liners—themed to the cupcakes, plain white or black, or a complementary color.
- Use an ice cream scoop to divide the cupcake mixture equally between the liners. Fill them about three-quarters full.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- The cupcakes should be ready in about 20 minutes. Test their doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cakes. When the cupcakes are cooked through, it should come out clean. If not, bake for an extra 2 minutes and check again.
Cupcake Frosting Tips
- When making the frosting, you want the end result to be creamy, smooth, and hold a stiff peak. You may have to slightly adjust the amount of powdered sugar and cream to achieve the desired consistency.
- Food Coloring: Food coloring is available in various forms. You’re most likely to find liquid coloring in your grocery store and other types of coloring like gels, pastes, and powders in more specialized cake decorating shops. The cheapest option is liquids, but they can alter the consistency of your frosting and cake batter. We prefer pastes or gels, which don’t. A little goes a long way with food coloring gels, and you can usually get a much deeper shade than you would with liquids.
- The frosting in this recipe is divided and colored using food coloring. Remember that you can always add more color but can’t remove it. Add a little to start with and add more to get the shade required.
- This recipe uses three frosting colors. You will need 3 separate piping bags fitted with different round tips.
- If you plan to make a lot of cookies, cakes, and cupcakes, we think it is worth investing in piping tips so that you always have the right ones on hand.
- Do not overfill piping bags with frosting.
- Ensure you squeeze the frosting down the bag to expel any air bubbles.
- If you are not confident with your piping skills, practice on parchment paper first, scooping the frosting back into the bag to use on the cupcakes.
Monster Eyeball Cupcakes Recipe Card
The printable recipe card is below—please leave a star rating and quick review to share your experience with others!

Monster Eyeball Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 (15.25-oz/432g) box triple chocolate cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1¼ cup whole milk
For the Frosting
- 1½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 5½ cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 Tbsp heavy cream (double cream)
- Neon purple gel food coloring
- Neon green gel food coloring
- Neon pink gel food coloring
- Fuchsia gel food coloring
For Decorating
- 12 Candy Eyeballs such as Trolli Glotzer
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
- Large Round Piping Tip Wilton 1A
- Medium Round Piping Tip Wilton #8 or #10
Instructions
- To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4. Line cupcake pans with 12 black cupcake liners and set them aside.
- Using an electric standing or hand mixer, beat the cake mix, eggs, milk, and butter until combined and smooth.
- Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter between the cupcake liners. Fill about ¾ full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
- To make the frosting, use an electric stand or handheld mixer and add the butter, powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla to the bowl.
- Beat on medium speed until creamy, smooth, and stiff peaks form.
- Divide the frosting between 3 medium bowls.
- Add a few drops of neon purple gel food coloring to one of the bowls of frosting. Remember, you can always add more coloring, but not remove it! Stir in the food coloring until well combined, and you reach the desired shade. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip (Wilton 1A) and set it aside.
- Add a few drops of neon green gel food coloring to one of the other bowls of frosting. Remember, you can always add more coloring, but not remove it! Stir in the food coloring until well combined, and you reach the desired shade. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip (Wilton 1A) and set it aside.
- Add a few drops each of neon pink and fuchsia gel food coloring to one of the other bowls of frosting. Remember, you can always add more coloring, but not remove it! Stir in the food coloring until well combined, and you reach the desired shade. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip (Wilton #8 or #10) and set it aside.
- Using the purple frosting, pipe a thick ring around the top of each cooked and cooled cupcake. Fill in the center if required.
- Using the green frosting, pipe a slightly smaller ring on the purple layer. Fill in the center if required.
- Using the purple frosting again, pipe a slightly smaller ring on the green layer. Fill in the center if required.
- Using the green frosting again, pipe a slightly smaller ring on the purple layer. Fill in the center if required.
- Using the pink frosting, create thick drips on the top green layer to resemble blood dripping.
- Remove the candy eyeballs from any packaging and place one on each frosted cupcake. Enjoy, and Happy Halloween!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
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Halloween Dinner Menu Suggestions
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a spooky dinner!
- Appetizer: Air Fryer Mummy Meatballs with Marinara Sauce
- Soup: Grandma’s Pumpkin Soup
- Salad: Waldorf Salad
- Main Dish: One-Pan Caprese Chicken Thighs
- Side Dish: Creamy Polenta
- Beverage: Monster Mash Margarita