These Vegan Halloween Cupcake Monsters are more sweet than spooky with a dark chocolate cupcake, naturally purple frosting fur, and big green grape eyes! Vegan, gluten-free, naturally colored.
I know you are probably positively petrified right now by these big-eyed purple beasts and their intimidating cupcake demeanor. Purple fuzzy frosting “fur”. Big googly eyes with peeping chocolate pupils. And the spookiest element of all–sprinkles! But I promise their bite is much sweeter than their bark. And by bite I mean you bite into them, not the other… Because they don’t have any teeth, just eye balls, so they can’t actually… Okay, moving on.
So maybe these are not the most terrifying Halloween dessert you’ve ever seen. Next to really spooky sweets like these or these or these these they are borderline adorable. Next to a puppy in a ghost costume the puppy would most likely win for spookiest look. But they are very delectable little not-so-terrifying monsters! And vegan too, how many monsters do you know that can claim that?!
The cupcake. There’s no better base flavor for a menacing monster than chocolate. I slightly modified my favorite Everything-Free Chocolate Cupcake recipe to make them extra dark and chocolatey, although now I might have to make them like this all the time because that extra cacao made them extra delicious!
The frosting. My favorite part! Yep, I was that kid who always wanted the corner piece of birthday cake and felt that frosting piled higher than the cupcake itself was as it should be. This frosting is made with just 3 ingredients, no refined sugar, and the color is completely natural thanks to purple sweet potato! How lucky is it that sweet potatoes just happen to come in the perfect shade for monster-making? Very lucky! The sweet potato is not just great for color, but thick, creamy, low-fat texture too. And it is perfectly pipe-able and stays put just like regular frosting.
The eyeballs. Purple and green are like the funky untraditional halloween color pair, so of course the eyeballs had to be green. Green grapes (or if you can find them kiwi berries) are perfect for the job. Slice them in half, pop a mini chocolate chip in the center, and soon your cupcake monsters will be giving you the fruity stare-down. Or if you want to get a little eyeball-elaborate, freeze the grapes/kiwi berries, slice them, coat them facedown with coconut milk, and let it harden into the whites of their eyes.
The sprinkles. These are optional, but what’s a monster without sprinkles? Actually, now that I think about it, it could be mistaken for monster dandruff…um let’s not think about that. Anywho, you can use any colors you like, but I went with black (chocolate), white, and yellow.
Prep Time:
Yield:
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PinIngredients
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cacao powder (or cocoa)
- ¾ cup oat flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp baking powder
Purple Frosting
- 1 cup baked and mashed purple sweet potato
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 4–6 tbsp non-dairy milk
Decorations
- 3 green grapes or kiwi berries
- Mini chocolate chips
- Chocolate (yellow, and coconut sprinkles)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Blend the dates and water on high until smooth.
- Add the rest of the cupcake ingredients. Blend/process to form a thick batter.
- Divide beweren 6-8 muffin cups lined with paper liners or lightly oiled.
- Bake for 25 mins at 350F.
- Remove from the oven. Cool completely before frosting.
- In a food processor (works better than a blender for this), combine the mashed purple sweet potato and maple syrup. Process while slowly adding the milk until thick and smooth. This may take a while to get it really smooth.
- Spread a thick layer of frosting on each cupcake. Dab with a dull knife to create a “fur” effect.
- Top with sprinkles.
- Slice the grapes/kiwi berries in half. Insert a mini chocolate chip into the center of each. Place on top of the cupcakes.
- Enjoy! They are best eaten the day you decorate them or the grapes get a little funky.
And that’s it. Or is it…(cue spooky suspense music!) It’s not, there is more…
This recipe is part of a collaboration with 4 amazing vegan bloggers/youtubers so that means there’s even more spooky and sweet stuff to make for your haunted halloween high-carb vegan feast.
Candy Corn Parfait from Caitlin {@frommybowl}
Date-Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread by Jasmine {@sweetsimplevegan}
Pumpkin Spice Twix, Chocolate Witch Fingers, and Eyezzz from Lisa {@lisakng_}
Mummy Bites from Steph {@stephsplate}
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Hey. Great idea. Unfortunately I can’t find any purple sweet potato in a grocery store near me. Do you have an idea how to make a frosting out of pumpkin?
Best regards,
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa! Hmmm pumpkin frosting, I don’t have a low fat idea for that one unfortunately. Since pumpkin has so much more moisture in it than sweet potato I think you will need some sort of fat source to make it hold its shape. But if you are okay using coconut cream then I have used this pumpkin spice filling as a frosting before: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/pumpkin-spice-oreos/
Do you have an oriental grocery near you ? They sell them at H-Mart for example . They are a small diameter white potato that is purple inside .
I do not have an oriental market around here, but that is the best place for finding the purple potatoes! I’ve never had the kind with the white skin, but those would be great here too 🙂
Well I guess I know what I’m making with my 15 POUND BOX of PURPLE SWEET POTATOES!!!!! 😉 PERFECT recipe, girl!! And so festive!!!
How are you so lucky to have such a ginormous purple potato stash!?! Ahh I can’t wait to see it! 🙂
How adorable!!! You’ve been hiding these from us all this time??? LOVE it! Also, totally spooktacularly creeped out! But in a totally, awesomely good way. Also, purple fuzzy frosting fur MUST be a thing. Can we make that a thing? LOL on the teeth. I could’ve written that line. Hahaha. SO cool that you made frosting out of purple sweet potato! I swear, you are the queen of natural coloring. Can we turn the time machine back and have you make all of the treats for my 4th birthday party? Or… erm, my birthday this year? I’ll take the cotton candy ice cream cake, two dozen of these and your funfetti mug cupcakes. Please! 😉 Such a fun IG collab! <3 Happy, happy Halloween my dear! xo
I tell you you’re spooktacular (almost said spectacular but that would be unacceptable since IT’S HALLOWEEN! Duh!) has been rubbing off on me, I find myself saying “anywho” all the time now too haha!! Oh you better believe if I ever have small children the purple fuzzy frosting thing would be making a reappearance at at least one birthday. “What color monster do you want this year, orange or purple? Because those are the only colors sweet potatoes come in.” lol? Since it’s almost your actual real life b-day, of course all that is coming right up? xoxo
I am just giddy over how freaking cute and pretty these are!! Those eyes, hahaha! I love the closeup shot of them…he’s looking right at me saying “Happy Halloween!” LOL! I have yet to try a purple sweet potato and need to get one of those stat, they are so gorgeous and I’ve heard they are super sweet. I’m loving the collaboration too, those pumpkin twix sound freaking amazing and so creative! And I’m in total agreement with you, making the chocolate cupcakes the base for monsters AND increasing the chocolate flavor, heck yeah! There is no such thing as too chocolatey. I’m in love with this recipe and these monsters!
Yep staring right into your soul with his little grape eyes hahaha! Which sounds kinda creepy but he’s just too dang cute to scare anyone. Wait wait wait… you’ve never tried a purple sweet potato!!?!?! OMG get on it! If you can find them that is. I’m just surprised since you love sweet potatoes so much, although taste wise the white ones still win for me. But they don’t make as festive a frosting 🙂 Oh I know right, I really want to try the Twix too. More chocolate please! Always! Thanks Brandi <3
How did I miss this post???!? These are fantastic!!!!! Haha! I was that kid too – gimme all of that delicious frosting – nothing beats a corner piece of cake ?? But THIS frosting???? Oh, my! Pile it on high and zero guilt because sweet potatoes! I need to try this because i haven’t really cared much for the sweet potato frostings I have tried – and since we seem to have similar tastes, I’m sure I’ll love it (and willow)! I absolutely loved the video for these!! The music was perfect and watching those little monster eyes come together was fun! Willow kept asking, “is she going to talk, mama?” So when she heard your voice at the end of the video she got really excited ? Hope you had a fun Halloween!!
Yes a fellow frosting fantastic haha!! I used to sneak/steal/pipe into my mouth SO much frosting when I was a kid and my mom would be making cookies or a cake or something. Fortunately the sweet potato kind doesn’t lead to feeling sick when you eat it by the spoonful lol. It still has a distinctly sweet potato flavor, but I like it! Kinda like that purple pudding jar from a while ago. That’s so funny that she asked about the talking on this one because it’s the first one I have done voiceover on in months! It’s like she knew…Halloween magic is real lol 😀 I hope you guys had an awesome halloween too!
I ran out of dates, What else could I use??
You could use raisins or dried plums as a direct substitute, or you could use mashed banana, leave out the water, and maybe add a little coconut sugar so they will still be sweet enough.
these look SO cute! perfect for a halloween gathering we’re having tomorrow.. 🙂 just wondering, what does this frosting taste like ? I’m a little worried my friends who are not so used to healthified desserts may not love?
The frosting still tastes pretty obviously of sweet potato, so not the best recipe for a non-vegan crowd. Maybe just go with good old chocolate with the faces still instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/the-best-healthy-chocolate-cupcakes/
Just came across this recipe on Youtube! I would love to turn this recipe into a cake recipe to make a birthday cake for my friend. How long would you suggest me to bake it for (plan to make a 4 inch cake) and do I have to make any adjustments to the batter? Thanks!
Hi Joyce! I have made this recipe as a 6 inch cake before and these measurements work perfectly for that size pan. 4 inch is quite small in diameter, so if you were to use all the batter in that size pan it will be too thick to cook through properly. I would recommend just using 2/3 of the batter and then baking the leftover as cupcakes of something. Or you could do two 4 inch cakes and then stack them after baking. It will probably need to bake for 30-35 minutes, but that’s the only adjustment you need to make. Hope that helps and it turns out perfect 🙂
is it possible to substitute maple syrup with coconut sugar in the frosting?
Sure! But you will probably need to add extra milk to get it to blend 🙂
Hi Natalie! Amazing recipe! Thank you! Do you think would work as a cake as well????? I cook for a kindergarden in Brazil and would love to offer this cake! Thank you! <3!
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Yep, absolutely! I’ve made these into a cake before. I’d recommend 1.5x the amounts to fill a regular 9″ round cake pan though. Hope you and your kiddos enjoy it 🙂
Great Idea! What are the yellow sprinkles?
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Those are homemade coconut sprinkles, recipe here: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-sprinkles/
These vegan Halloween cupcake monsters are so Instagrammable and adorable! As you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely! Thx for sharing!
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Haha I love holidays for an excuse to get a little unnecessarily silly with the decor🤗 Thanks Julia, so happy you liked them!