Zombie Graveyard Cupcakes (GF)

These cupcakes were inspired by a popular scene I’ve seen on many other Halloween cakes and cupcakes- "dirt" graveyard with a tombstone background and a creepy hand sticking up out of the ground. 

The hands and gravestones are made out of fondant.  The gravestones were really easy- I just cut out the shape with paper and cut the fondant out according to the shape using a small paring knife. For the hands, I followed this really helpful tutorial from the Craftsy blog.

IMPORTANT TIPS: 

• Create the fondant decorations at least 48 hours before you bake and assemble the cupcakes. Allow them to air dry so that they harden. This will cause them to keep their shape and it will make it a lot easier to draw on the gravestones with edible food pens. Have you tried writing on wet fondant? The color does not come out and it's terribly frustrating 
• You must attach toothpicks to the bottom of the wrist of the "hands" and the center of the bottom of the gravestones. Otherwise, the fondant hands and gravestones will be too heavy and will not hold up in the cupcake.
• Refrigerate the cupcakes after cooling them and before you frost them. They will be easier to handle when you dip them in the "dirt" coating.

For the "dirt" you can either use the standard- oreos (or GF sandwich cookies)- or you can do my makeshift version. I didn't have cookies to crumble, so I combined almond flour, cocoa powder and a bit of brown sugar in the food processor until it tasted good and looked like dirt. I would have actually used cookies if I had them, but unless I am planning on baking something with cookies, I generally keep them away from house, lest I eat them all out of the bag when I get home from work.

These are seriously cute and fairly easy Halloween cupcakes to make. The best part is you can harass everyone in your house by touching them and making puns with your tiny fondant hands.

These cupcakes feature my absolute favorite gluten free chocolate cake recipe (one I converted from Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake Recipe). 

For the Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 20-24 cupcakes)

3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1/4 cup each of sweet rice flour, white rice flour, sorghum flour, and almond flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup sour cream (room temperature)

3 tbsp coconut oil

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients in food processor and pulse several times to combine. Pour dry ingredients into bowl of stand mixer or regular large bowl. Add all wet ingredients and stir well to combine- about 3 minutes. Scoop mixture evenly into lined cupcake pans and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the Vanilla Bean Buttercream:

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/4 block of cream cheese (room temperature)

Seeds from one whole vanilla bean

2 1/2-3 cups powdered sugar

Combine butter and room temperature cream cheese until combined. Add vanilla bean seeds. Add powdered sugar cup by cup until desired consistency and sweetness is reached. If frosting is too thick- add a bit of milk or cream.

To assemble:

1. Frost cooled cupcakes using a butter knife or offset spatula

2. Dip cupcake in "dirt"

3. Once all cupcakes have been frosted/coated, insert decorations into cupcakes. Make sure to first test out one decoration, as you will likely have to cut the toothpicks down.