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Deep Dark Chocolate and Ghostly Meringue Cupcakes

Oct 31 by Anita 30 Comments

 Halloween ghost cupcakes

Happy Halloween! So I just want to say now that all these years before when I would do the ritual complaint of, “Things are so crazy busy around the holidays!” I was saying this without a kid. Now that I have a kid, I truly understand what CRAZY BUSY around the holidays mean.

Halloween ghost cupcakes

No offense to those without kids, of course. I was happily laden down with endless to-do lists and ambitious holiday projects in my childless days. Now the problem is I still want to do all those things and tackle those personal goals…and play with my daughter and introduce her to the joys of the season as well. Something’s got to give, and it usually feels like it’s the baking.

That means I always get excited when I can combine multiple tasks together…like making these little chocolate Halloween ghost cupcakes for Isabelle’s daycare Halloween party. (I can’t wait until she’s old enough to start baking with me!) I didn’t feel quite as guilty working away on these knowing that she and her little friends would get to enjoy them in a day. (No, she doesn’t get to eat my desserts regularly yet, but given it’s Halloween, I’ll make this exception!)

Isabelle is actually learning about pumpkins and witches and ghosts at daycare, so hopefully she’s recognize the spooks haunting the tops of these cupcakes. They’re relatively quick to put together, and they’re mini size, so perfect for little kids!

Halloween ghost cupcakes

The cupcakes are a mini version of these cupcakes I’ve made before. Near midnight-black, deeply chocolatey, this is probably my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. The frosting is a simple chocolate ganache; the equal proportions of chocolate and cream make for a thick, perfectly pipable icing. With just this frosting, you would have a respectably delicious cupcake, but since it’s Halloween, it needs a little more flair.

I toyed around with making soft meringue buttercream ghosts, but I decided that two layers of frosting would be too much ooey gooey sweet. I like the contrasting lightness and crunch these crisp little meringue toppers offer: they’re almost insubstantial, like ghosts should be. You can also make them ahead of time – they keep in an airtight container for a few days, ready to pop on top of the cupcakes when you make them.

Hope you have a sweet and spooky weekend!

Halloween ghost cupcakes

Dark Chocolate and Ghostly Meringue Cupcakes

makes 24 mini cupcakes
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Meringue Ghosts

  • 4 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup (200 g) sugar
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Cupcakes

  • 4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-in pieces
  • 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup (3/4 oz) cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ounces sour cream

Chocolate Ganache

  • 8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 8 oz heavy cream

For the meringue:

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Place egg whites in a clean stand mixer bowl. Whisk with whisk attachment on medium speed until foamy.
  • Add cream of tartar and continue whisking until soft peaks form.
  • Slowly add the sugar a bit at at time, letting it incorporate. The meringue should become stiff and glossy. When it holds stiff peaks, stop.
  • Scoop meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe dollops of meringue onto the baking sheet. To keep the ghosts as vertical as possible, hold the bag vertically a little bit above the sheet instead of holding it close. Let the meringue flow out of the bag onto the sheet instead of pushing it onto the sheet and flattening the mound. Add chocolate chip eyes by pushing in gently.
  • Place in oven and bake for about 60 to 70 minutes until the meringues are dry and firm to the touch and are just starting to color.
  • Turn off oven and let meringues stay inside overnight to finish drying out.

For the cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 24 cup mini muffin pan with baking-cup liners.
  • Combine butter and chocolate in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate start to melt. Add cocoa and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.
  • Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to combine.
  • Whisk egg, sugar, and vanilla in a separate medium bowl until fully incorporated.
  • Add cooled chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until combined.
  • Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is smooth and thick.
  • Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 11-13 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool.

For the ganache:

  • Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.
  • Place cream in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil on the stove over medium-high heat.
  • Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for a minute.
  • Slowly whisk the mixture until the chocolate is fully melted and combined.
  • Let ganache sit for about an hour until it has cooled and thickened enough to pipe. You can also place in refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.

To finish the cupcakes:

  • Fill a piping bag fitted with a large (1/2" or larger) round tip with the ganache. Pipe over the tops of the cupcakes. Place a meringue on top of each cupcake.

Filed Under: Cakes, Chocolate, Recipes Tagged With: chocolate, cupcake, ghost, halloween, meringue

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Comments

  1. 1

    Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says

    Oct 31 at 5:42 am

    Spooky!! Wishing you a happy Hallowe’en! Love these cute little cupcakes 🙂

    Reply
  2. 2

    Becky says

    Oct 31 at 8:13 am

    These are too cute! I bet your little one loved these 🙂 Happy Halloween!!

    Reply
  3. 3

    heather @french press says

    Oct 31 at 8:35 am

    these are just adorable – Happy Halloween

    Reply
  4. 4

    Amby Felix says

    Oct 31 at 9:44 am

    Very cute! I made some similar to these the other day for my blog but made the ghosts out of marshmallow meringue 🙂

    Reply
  5. 5

    The Food Hunter says

    Oct 31 at 9:46 am

    so cute!!

    Reply
  6. 6

    Nancy says

    Oct 31 at 10:47 am

    Pretty sure I’d love to eat one of these – they’re so cute. I love meringue and… helloooo chocolate.

    Reply
  7. 7

    Bettina says

    Oct 31 at 11:48 am

    My kids would love these. They look yummy

    Reply
  8. 8

    Jennifer | Bake or Break says

    Oct 31 at 1:28 pm

    These are so adorable!

    Reply
  9. 9

    foodwanderings says

    Oct 31 at 2:01 pm

    OMgoodness even if I am not a fan of the Halloween gore I am completely taken by these harmless cute little cupcake ghosts. 🙂

    Reply
  10. 10

    Jess says

    Oct 31 at 11:12 pm

    These are beautiful! Hope you had a great Halloween!

    Reply
  11. 11

    breana says

    Nov 1 at 8:35 am

    Those are so cute, and look amazingly tasty!

    Reply
  12. 12

    karissa says

    Nov 1 at 11:19 am

    These are just so cute.

    Reply
  13. 13

    Julia @ Sprinkled With Jules says

    Nov 1 at 11:28 am

    These are just adorable! I love the little chocolate chips for the eyes.

    Reply
  14. 14

    Andi says

    Nov 1 at 2:24 pm

    The only thing I love more than dark chocolate and cream cheese frosting cupcakes is dark chocolate and meringue cupcakes – YUM!

    Reply
  15. 15

    estherjulee says

    Nov 1 at 3:59 pm

    these are so adorbs. 🙂 baking always falls on the backburner for me too even though we have no kids. i’m always happy when we can kill two birds with one stone.

    Reply
  16. 16

    Cam | Bibs and Baubles says

    Nov 1 at 8:26 pm

    Those have to be the CUTEST cupcakes! I know I’d eat way too many!

    Reply
  17. 17

    The Accidental Mama says

    Nov 1 at 8:34 pm

    Oh my gosh! This is so cute! I am so so so not this motivated lol!
    xoxo
    The Accidental Mama
    http://www.theaccidentalmama.com

    Reply
  18. 18

    Erica says

    Nov 2 at 12:00 am

    These look absolutely amazing and delicious. How much fun.

    Reply
  19. 19

    Jessica says

    Nov 2 at 8:29 am

    I want to eat those right now. The little meringue ghosts remind me of Lush bath bombs.

    Reply
  20. 20

    Fi says

    Nov 2 at 11:23 am

    These are so adorable! I bet they taste amazing too. Pinning for next Halloween 🙂

    Reply
  21. 21

    Nutmeg Nanny says

    Nov 2 at 4:10 pm

    These are so cute! I love those little ghostly meringues.

    Reply
  22. 22

    Brenda says

    Nov 2 at 4:45 pm

    Yum!!! Delicious looking meringue cupcakes!

    Reply
  23. 23

    Jessica Doll says

    Nov 3 at 1:01 am

    These are so adorable, I love their little eyes !

    Reply
  24. 24

    Renee - Kudos Kitchen says

    Nov 3 at 7:30 am

    Oh my stars! These are just the cutest thing ever!

    Reply
  25. 25

    Rebekah says

    Nov 3 at 7:55 am

    Those look adorable and sound delicious! Would love to make these for a halloween party!

    Reply
  26. 26

    Cassie @ Craving Creations says

    Nov 3 at 12:11 pm

    These cupcakes look amazing! I will definitely have to test them out! 🙂

    Reply
  27. 27

    Winter White says

    Nov 3 at 12:44 pm

    These are SO Pinterest worthy! I love them!

    Reply
  28. 28

    Alyssa says

    Nov 4 at 5:57 pm

    These are so cute!!! I love them and thanks for the recipe!!!!

    Reply
  29. 29

    Julie says

    Oct 20 at 2:46 pm

    When do you add the chocolate chip eyes? It isn’t mentioned in the recipe. Before baking the meringue?

    Reply
    • 30

      Anita says

      Jan 27 at 12:33 pm

      Hi Julie,
      You add them to the meringues before baking them. Thanks for asking and I’ve updated the recipe!

      Reply

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about pastrygirl

Anita Chu, also known as pastrygirl, is a baker, writer, and photographer with a passion for pastry. She trained at Tante Marie's Cooking School and is the author of Field Guide to Cookies, Field Guide to Candy, and Lollipop Love. Anita lives in San Francisco with her husband, baby girl, and rescue cockapoo Snickerdoodle. More about pastrygirl

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