Guest Post: Horror Show Pistachio Zombie Cupcakes

Halloween is nearly upon us. Take control of your own little monsters and whip up these zombie cupcakes together, using many of your favorite candies!

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This sweet post comes to us courtesy of Ben DeMeter from ACandyStore.com. When he’s not creating delicious content for the ACS Blog, Ben is doggedly pursuing his campaign to get cake accepted as one of the major dietary food groups. He currently lives in Houston, TX.

Zombies have been feasting on humanity for decades. This Halloween, it’s time to strike back. Let the undead menace discover what it’s like to be gnawed on by whipping up a batch of these Horror Show Pistachio Zombie Cupcakes. Green, delicious and shockingly easy to make, they’re sure to be a hit at your next holiday party.

I based this recipe for off of the Pistachio Pudding Cupcakes Recipe from EatLiveRun. There are only three ingredients in the cupcakes themselves, which makes them a can’t-miss for amateur bakers or parents with “little helpers.”  Add some whipped pistachio buttercream frosting and a few candy decorations and you’ve got soft and spongy treats that both look and taste good enough to raise the dead.

HORROR SHOW PISTACHIO ZOMBIE CUPCAKES

FOR THE CUPCAKES

You’ll need:

• One Box of Yellow Cake Mix (Pick a Brand, Any Brand)
• 1 3.5oz Package Pistachio Pudding/Pie Filling Mix
• 1 ½ Cups Milk
• One Package Halloween Cupcake Cups

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Combine the pudding mix and milk into a mixing bowl. Stir with a cooking spoon until it starts to smooth out and thicken. Slowly pour in the cake mix. Keep stirring until everything is nice and mixed together.

Put your cupcake cups into your cupcake pan. Fill each cup about ¾ full with batter.

Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. See, wasn’t that easy?

FOR THE FROSTING

Most pistachio cake recipes call for a whipped pistachio pudding frosting. We’re going to use a buttercream frosting for ours. Why? Because whipped frosting starts to melt after about thirty minutes and when it starts to melt, it will melt all your neat candy decorations along with it. Buttercream makes for an equally delicious – and more stable – alternative.

As far as the decorating goes, I just listed the candy that I used. Feel free to use whatever candies you want to decorate your cupcakes – though I will add that the candy eyeballs really help make the cupcakes resemble faces. Especially if you’re terrible at making frosting eyeballs, like I am.

What you’ll need:

• ½  of a 3.50oz Package Pistachio Pudding Mix
• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter
• 4 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla
• Up to ½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• Green Food Coloring
• 1 Package Red Vine Whips or Pull and Peel Twizzlers
• 1 Package Assorted Licorice (I used Jelly Belly)
• 1 Package Starlight Mints
• Candy Eyeballs

Warm the butter up until it hits room temperature. Whip it with a mixer until it’s creamy. Mix in the confectioner’s sugar and pistachio pudding mix. Then add the vanilla and salt and food coloring. Keep adding food coloring drop-by-drop until you reach a desired shade of gangrene. If your icing is too stiff, then add in some of the heavy cream to make it fluffier. If it’s too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken.

DECORATING

Wait until the cupcakes are totally cool to decorate them. Ice them with a liberal helping of the frosting. Crush up the starlight mints to use as teeth. Pull apart the Red Vines and turn them into stitches or mouths. Sprinkle on the licorice and other decorations to taste.