Brownie Cupcakes

Brownie Cupcakes are super yummy and so easy to make. A unique twist on a classic – brownies plus cake plus frosting in one unique and delicious Cupcake.

We were so happy with how these Brownie Cupcakes turned out.  They are unique, bright, colorful, and just scream “Halloween”.  But most importantly they are very yummy. The brownie and the cake taste great together and you definitely taste the two different textures in the cupcakes. They are the perfect dessert for a Halloween party, potluck, or any other kind of fun fall get-together. We give this a Two Sisters Halloween Thumbs Up!

Ingredients You Will Need

How to make the Cupcakes

Step 1: Using the directions on the box of the Brownie mix, make the brownie batter.  We usually use Ghiradelli Chocolate Supreme Brownie Mix because we like the added Chocolate Chips in the batter but you can use your favorite. Makeup the White Cake Mix using the directions on the box and when the batter is finished, color it with orange food coloring. If you want the brightest orange color, use the “egg whites only” directions.

Baking Instructions

Steps 2-3: The trickiest part of making these Brownie Cupcakes is the ratio of Cake Batter to Brownie Mix. Add a spoonful of brownie mix to the cupcake liners.  The brownie batter should only go about 1/3 of the way up the cupcake liner.  You want more cake batter than brownie batter in the liners.
Steps 4-5: Then cover the brownie batter with the orange cake batter until the cake batter has filled the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. (If you add too much cake batter the cupcakes will overflow over the edges of the cupcake liner when they bake.)  

Step 6: Bake the cupcakes as you normally would, 15-20 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. The dome of the cupcake will bounce back to the touch when it is fully baked. Allow the cupcakes to cool.

How to Frost the Cupcakes

Step 7: Make a batch of our Best Buttercream Frosting to top your Brownie Cupcakes.  It is easy to make and so delicious.  You will find the recipe and detailed instructions on how to make it here.
Step 8: We used a pastry bag and a Wilton 2D Decorating Tip to swirl on the frosting.

Step 9: We topped our Brownie Cupcakes for Halloween with some Orange and Black DIY Sprinkles.  It is so easy to make your own sprinkles we do it for everything now.  Here is our detailed instructions how to do make them.

UPDATE:  We had a couple of comments from our readers saying that they had trouble removing the cupcake liner from the brownie portion of the cupcake. We didn’t have any problem with that ourselves but we wanted to do some tests so we made the Brownie Cupcakes again for our family Halloween Party.  We tried different cupcake liners (thin inexpensive ones, foil liners, heavier cupcake liners) and we didn’t have any problem with any of them.

But here are a couple of tips:

• Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before you remove the liner.
• Don’t remove the liner until right before you are ready to serve the Brownie Cupcakes, the cake will dry out if you take off the liner too soon.
• In the picture above we show how we removed the liners.  First, pull down the sides of the cupcake liner but leave the flat bottom portion on.  Flatten down the sides of the cupcake liner and then gently roll the liner off the bottom of the cupcake while you hold the cupcake with your other hand.

Expert Tips and FAQ’s

Other Halloween Treats you will love

• Monster Eye Balls Rice Krispie Bites
• Fall Candy Corn Popcorn
• Bewitched Cupcakes
• Halloween Brownie Rice Krispie Treats

Step-by-Step Video Tutorial