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Bleeding Brain Cupcakes

Red velvet cupcake, filled with jam, topped with brain themed pink icing - perfect for Halloween!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Cupcake
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12
Calories 456kcal
Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the sponge

  • 150 g Butter or baking spread softened, unsalted
  • 150 g Caster sugar
  • 2 Eggs large
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 85 ml Buttermilk
  • 165 g Self raising flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp Cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp Red food colouring I use Pro Gel or Sugarflair

For the filling

  • 200 g Strawberry or Raspberry Jam

For the buttercream

  • 200 g Butter unsalted, softened
  • 400 g Icing sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp Milk
  • Pink food colouring I use Pro Gel or Sugarflair

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line a cupcake tin with black cupcake cases
  • Whisk the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until fluffy, ideally with an electric mixer using the paddle attachment
  • Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and mix them in
  • Add the buttermilk, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, red food colouring and self raising flour, mix until combined
  • Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean, then put them on a cooling rack to cool fully
  • Once fully cool, use a cupcake corer or a knife to make a hole in the centre of each cupcake
  • Fill each hole with the jam, you can use a small spoon or a piping bag to do this
  • To make the buttercream, mix the butter on it's own for a couple of minutes. This should ideally be done with an electric mixer using the paddle attachment
  • Add the icing sugar, milk, vanilla extract and a small amount of pink food colouring, and mix until smooth. (Remember that you only want a pale pink colour so be sparing with the pink food colouring, you can always add more but you can't take away!) If the buttercream is too stiff then you can add a little more milk
  • Put the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a circular/round nozzle. Pipe a line down the centre of the cupcake, then squiggles on either side for the brain effect
  • Keep in an airtight container in a cool place, and eat leftovers within 3 days

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 273mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 780IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg