This simple step by step tutorial will help you put together this wonderful Halloween sweet display. Highly customizable to match your Halloween theme, this cupcake tree will be a big hit at your Halloween party!

How to Make a Halloween Cupcake Tree

This easy to put together Halloween cupcake tree is fabulous for your Halloween party or get-together. The cupcake stand is simple to dress up, and the cupcakes take hardly any time at all to decorate, yet everyone will think this easy-peasy snack/decor tree took you hours to put together. Nothing could be further from the truth!!

If you are interested in some more “spooky” Halloween treats, try these:

• Mummy Cookies Recipe – super simple “scary” Halloween cookie!

• Spider Cookies Recipe – creepy-crawlies never tasted so good! These “spooky” spider cookies are a huge hit with kids, and adults!

• “Spooky” Spider Treats Recipe – that aren’t really spooky at all.

• Candy Apple Pumpkins Recipe – if you are hosting a Halloween party or brings in treats for an after-school functions, these Candy Apple Pumpkins are Jack o’Lantern scary.

• How to Make a Halloween Bag Cake

Halloween Cupcake Tree Materials:

• 24 Baked Cupcakes (23 if using the stand shown) using orange and/or black cupcake liners
• 4B Star Tip
• Frosting Bag
• Spatula
• Cupcake Stand
• Spiderweb
• Cupcake Wrappers

• Candy. Lots of different candy!

• Orange frosting: I used this recipe: Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe (one batch) with a TON of orange colorant (enough so your frosting is vibrant orange, not peachy) + ½ tablespoon of meringue powder

Notes:

• Meringue powder will stiffen to your frosting. If you are transporting and the frosting is touched, instead of smearing, the frosting will just dent (once dry)
• You do not want to frost these heavily or to the ends. The cake tree is wrapped in a spiderweb, and you want to avoid getting frosting on it. A 4B star tip was used to frost these cupcakes.

Halloween Cupcake Tree Directions:

• Wrap your cake tree in spiderweb; set aside.

• Assemble your Cupcake Wrappers and set them aside for a moment.

• Insert a 4B Star Tip into the end of a pastry bag.
• Load the pastry bag with orange frosting.
• Frost the cupcakes (three swirls is plenty, try not to over-frost).

• Place frosted cupcakes into cupcake wrappers.

• Decorate frosted cupcakes with candy. You will want some high candy standing up (like the pixie sticks and dumdum pops), some low (like the gummy snacks and candy corn). You can remove candy from the wrappers, or leave the candy wrapped. Do not unwrap malted balls or other chocolate.

• You can decorate all at once before placing the cupcakes into the tree, or do them one-by-one. If you do them all at once, count the cupcakes per row and stagger the heights accordingly. You want the taller ones on the bottom, a little less tall next shelf, shorter on the top, and maybe one very tall item at the very top. If you decorate a cupcake and place it on the tree, you can easily see what height should come next. You can also have them less “matchy.”

• The tree in this tutorial was done all at once. However, my niece has done this tree many times over the years, so she knew exactly what heights for the candies. If it is your first time making this Halloween Cupcake Tree, I would suggest the one-by-one approach.

• And that’s it. It took about 45 minutes to do this fun little Halloween cupcake tree, and that includes the cupcake baking time!! A fast, easy way to dress up a Halloween party table.

• Disclosure the links in this post may be affiliate links.

• For more Recipes on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.

• If you enjoyed this post, be sure to sign up for the Ann’s Entitled Life weekly newsletter, and never miss another article!

This easy to follow step-by-step tutorial will show you exactly how to make this Halloween Bag Cake. A sure hit at your next home, school or special event Halloween party, this bag cake comes together quickly! Everyone will love this fun Halloween treat.

How to Make a Halloween Bag Cake

This is a fun Halloween sweet-treat great for your next Halloween party or function. If someone has a Halloween birthday, this would be a fun one. Honestly? You could adapt this for any birthday simply by changing the color of the frosting and writing “Happy Birthday” on the top. If doing this, see my note below about the cake writer (i.e., use one that will not run).

If you are interested in some “spooky” Halloween treats, try these:

• Mummy Cookies Recipe – super simple “scary” Halloween cookie!

• Spider Cookies Recipe – creepy-crawlies never tasted so good! These “spooky” spider cookies are a huge hit with kids, and adults!

• “Spooky” Spider Treats Recipe – that aren’t really spooky at all.

• Candy Apple Pumpkins Recipe – if you are hosting a Halloween party or brings in treats for an after-school functions, these Candy Apple Pumpkins are Jack o’Lantern scary.

Halloween Bag Cake Materials:

• 13×9 Baked Cake

• Orange frosting: I used this recipe: Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe (double batch) with a TON of orange colorant (enough so your frosting is vibrant orange, not peachy) + 1 tablespoon of meringue powder (use ½ tablespoon per batch)

• Frosting Knife
• 13×9 Cake Board
• Food writer, writing gel
• Disposable Frosting Bag
• Knife
• Spatula

• Candy. Lots of different candy!

Notes:

• Make certain you grease and flour the sides and bottom of your cake pan for easy turn-out.(Line the bottom too!) I turned the cake out onto a baking rack to cool right side up. To put it right side up on the board, I got a second backing rack out, turned the cake upside down onto it, and then immediately flipped the cake onto the 13″x9″ board right side up.
• Meringue powder will add stiffening to your frosting. If someone touches it, it will help prevent a dent. When it dries, it will dry the frosting as it looks when you finished. It you are transporting your cake, it will help keep the frosting intact.
• The 13×9 Cake Board must be grease-proof, not paper. A paper board will allow the fat (butter or Crisco) to bleed out onto the board.
• The food writer used on this cake ran. That is a good thing on a Halloween cake, a bad thing on almost any other cake. Keep that in mind. (It actually didn’t run quite enough for me, so I took a toothpick and pulled it out a bit once the cake was finished.)
• The buttercream frosting used in this post is very tasty, spreads well, and is perfect for a stay at home party. If your cake will be out a long time in a hot place, you may want to consider a Crisco based frosting. It is less likely to melt (although it will not taste as good!)

Halloween Bag Cake Directions:

• Cut off one end of the cake in a zigzag. These cuts are about an inch deep. Go as deep or as shallow as you like, but space them out, so they look fairly uniform.

• Put down a bit of frosting in several places on your 13″x9″ board. This will “cement” the cake in place. (Keep in mind you are placing the uncut end of your cake toward the bottom of your board.)

• Turn your cake onto your 13″x9″ board. Make certain the uncut part of the cake is toward the bottom of your board leaving plenty of room at the top to insert candy.

• Load up a pastry bag with orange frosting. No tip is needed.
• Start to pipe the orange frosting over the cake. DO NOT frost the ends of the cut jagged part!!
• The frosting is VERY thickly applied. You want that. If you make a mistake, do not like what you wrote, you can scrap lightly, fill in with a squirt of frosting, smooth, and re-write. No one will ever know you made a mistake.

• Using a frosting knife spread out the piped frosting.

• Fill a glass with enough cold water that you can dip your frosting knife into it.
• Dip your frosting knife in the cold water, and run the frosting knife over your spread frosting. The cold water will help smooth out any bumps and ridges.
• Lift the frosting knife when it no longer is smoothing, and dip in the cold water again. If at any time you come away with orange frosting on your frosting knife, wipe it off with a paper towel or rag before dipping the frosting knife into the cold water again.
• Do not worry too much about the sides, they will be covered with candy.

• Place a row of small chocolate round (or flat) candies at the base of the frosted bag before you frosting sets.
• Place candy corn straight up all along the side before the frosting sets. This will square-off the cake and hide major side imperfections.
• Place a few candy corns at the corners of your bag.
• Write trick-or-treat, boo!, Happy Halloween, or some other Halloween-related greeting on the top of your cake. The food writer icing does not have to be perfect for a Halloween cake!!

• Start by placing tall candy at the top of your cake. They can be stuck into the top of the cake, or simply laid on the board.
• You are creating a 3-D effect, so keep that in mind.
• You can unwrap your candy as you add it, or keep the plastic wrapped packaged intact (remember, no paper as if the frosting touches it, the frosting will bleed onto paper).

• You can tack-down any large or lose candy to the board. Remember that children may (will) pull candy from the cake, so keep the frosting-cementing to a minimum.

• When you have finished, allow the cake to dry before boxing (if you are taking it somewhere).

• That is it! All together this took an hour to do, and that included baking the cake – which is the longest part! Do work with a cool cake though as you do not want the frosting to melt on a warm/hot baked cake.

• Disclosure the links in this post may be affiliate links.

• For more Recipes on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.

• If you enjoyed this post, be sure to sign up for the Ann’s Entitled Life weekly newsletter, and never miss another article!