Halloween Blood Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing and Blood Glaze

This spooky twist on a classic red velvet cupcake is perfect for Halloween. Queen Professional’s vibrant Pillar Box
Red Food Colouring and luxurious Vanilla Bean Paste bring bold colour and flavour to your creations, while our
Neutral Mirror Glaze delivers a dramatic blood-like finish.

Recipe by Queen Professional Brand Ambassador & Pastry Chef Angelica Iuliano

Prep

30 minutes, plus cooling

Cook

1 hour, plus refrigeration

Portions

12 serves

Download Recipe

Blood Velvet Cupcake

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus cooling

Cook Time: 15-18 minutes

400g plain flour

10g cocoa powder

5g bi-carb soda

1g salt

120g unsalted butter, soft

350g caster sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

250g vegetable oil

15g white vinegar

15ml Queen Professional Natural Concentrated Vanilla Extract

250g milk

30g lemon juice

25ml Queen Professional Pillar Box Red Food Colouring

Cream Cheese Icing

Prep Time: 10 minutes, 1 hour to set

300g cream cheese, room temperature

150g butter, soft

15g Queen Professional Organic Vanilla Bean Paste

500g icing sugar, sifted

Garnish

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus refrigeration

1 jar of Queen Professional Neutral Mirror Glaze

5ml Queen Professional Pillar Box Red Food Colouring

200g caster sugar for shards (Optional)

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Line a cupcake pan with 12 patty pans. Whisk milk and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. Sift dry ingredients together. To the milk mixture, add oil, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food colouring. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add half the liquid mixture, then half the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Repeat with remaining liquid and dry ingredients. Divide evenly into cupcake pans and bake for 15–18 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Note: Milk and lemon juice create a simple buttermilk. You may substitute with 250g store-bought buttermilk and omit the lemon juice.
  2. Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Add icing sugar in 3 parts, mixing between each addition (to avoid softening.) Pipe a swirl on each cooled cupcake. Refrigerate for 1 hour to set.
  3. Queen Professional Neutral Mirror Glaze is ready to use straight from the jar—no heating required. Shake for 30-60 seconds and pour the glaze into a bowl and add Queen Professional Pillar Box Red Food Colouring until a deep red is achieved. Stir gently to combine. Dip each cupcake into the glaze, allowing it to flow naturally over the icing and drip down the sides to resemble blood. Place cupcakes back into the fridge for 1 hour to set.
  4. (Optional) Using 200g caster sugar, make a dry caramel in a pan. Once at 121°C, add Queen Professional Pillar Box Red Food Colouring and mix together. Continue to cook until 145–150°C, pour onto an oiled baking tray and allow to set hard. Crack into shards once firm.

Products used in this recipe

Natural Organic Vanilla Extract 500 mL

1-96-000240

Neutral Mirror Glaze 1 kg

1-96-000579

Pillar Box Red Food Colour 500 mL

1-96-000220

Organic Vanilla Bean Paste with Vanilla Seeds 320 g

1-96-000264

Other recipe ideas

Chocolate, Blackberry and Vanilla Layer Cake

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars