It’s ALIVE! These man-eating cupcakes are the perfectly frightful addition to any Halloween party. These Venus Fly Trap Cupcakes are a delicious raspberry cupcake, dairy-free vanilla buttercream and have a hungry strawberry on top, ready to bite! This homemade Halloween treat is free of: gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nuts. It’s also top-8-free and vegan too!
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I love the typical witch, spider and mummy Halloween treat–but sometimes it’s fun to go outside the box! That’s why I love these man-eating Venus Fly Trap Cupcakes! They’re scary in all the right ways–and they’re very memorable! No one will forget eating one of these.
If you want, you could just do a typical white cake (your choice–even box if you can find one that fits your allergy needs). But, I figured instead of doing a white cake and adding food coloring, why not go all out and make the cupcake a homemade, allergy-friendly raspberry cupcake? I think the berry flavor adds nicely to the overall affect of this looking like you pulled it from your garden.
And least you think that the strawberries are hard to do, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was! I simply melted some vegan chocolate, brushed it on, let it harden and then pipped teeth with the vegan buttercream. And, it seemed the less perfect I was, the more real they came out to be! I am no master frosting piper, and so if I can do it–so can you! You can also try this chocolate based cupcake recipe to make things sweeter and interesting.
I loved the oohs and ahhs I got from my kids when they saw the finished product. It was so worth the effort. These will definitely be showstoppers for your Halloween party too!
And the best part–my son was headed to a birthday party. As any allergy mom knows, you have to bake and send your own safe cupcakes to birthday parties. I feel like a lot of the time, my son doesn’t love his homemade version–because the professional store bought versions are usually more attractive. BUT! I was so proud to send him with this. This was definitely going to be something he could happily eat and not feel bad about!
Also–if you can’t have soy–I’ve never found a store-bought “oreo” that doesn’t have soy in it (Glutino & Kinnikinick are the only ones I’ve found). These would still be cute without the chocolate crumbs for the “dirt” portion. Or, you’re welcome to make some of your own chocolate cookies (I’d recommend these) and crumble those yourself.
TIP: As with all gluten-free cupcakes, I find that if I overbake them, all I have to do is keep them in an air-tight container and they’ll moisten right up!
I hope you enjoy eating these man-eating Venus Fly Trap Cupcakes–and so will anyone that has dietary restrictions or food allergies! Here’s to a safe and inclusive Halloween! (PS–don’t forget to check out my safe trick-or-treating tips too!)
Venus Fly Trap Cupcakes (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan)
It's ALIVE! These man-eating cupcakes are the perfectly frightful addition to any Halloween party. These Venus Fly Trap Cupcakes are a delicious raspberry cupcake, dairy-free vanilla buttercream and have a hungry strawberry on top, ready to bite! This homemade Halloween treat is free of: gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nuts. It's also top-8-free and vegan too!
Ingredients
- CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 6 Tablespoons vegan butter, room temperature
- 2 tsp raspberry extract
- 6 Tablespoons aquafaba (the water from a can of Garbanzo beans
- 1 and 1/4 cups gluten-free flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan
- 4 Tablespoons rice milk
- 3 Tablespoons raspberry preserves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3-4 drops pink food color
- VEGAN BUTTERCREAM INGREDIENTS:
- ¼ cup dairy-free, soy-free shortening
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 and ½ cups powdered sugar
- ⅛ cup vanilla or regular rice milk
- green food coloring
- ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS AND TOOLS:
- strawberries
- vegan chocolate chips
- allergy-friendly chocolate cookies to crumble (see above in post for options)
- ziplock baggie or pastry bag
- small frosting tip (I recommend a Wilton round tip #2
- large frosting tip (I recommend an open star, but most large decorative ones will do)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease or line a cupcake tin.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and blend.
- With the stand mixer on slow, add the dry ingredients, ending with the flour. Add your desired amount of food coloring.
- Pour in even amounts into the cupcake tray. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the middle is done and the top springs back when you touch it. Turn them out onto a wire rack to cool.
- While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting by beating all of the ingredients in a stand mixer until it's combined. Take out about a 1/2 cup of the frosting before you add the green food coloring. This white frosting will be your teeth. Add as much green food coloring as you like to the rest.
- Once the cupcakes are cooled, place the green frosting in a piping bag, or a ziplock bag with a corner cut off and pipe some "leaves" by going in a circular pattern with an open star tip (or whatever frosting tip you prefer).
- Crumble your chocolate cookies and sprinkle it over the frosting while it's still wet.
- While the frosting dries, cut the green tops off your strawberries.
- Melt about 1/2 cup of your vegan chocolate chips in your microwave with a dollop of the dairy-free and soy-free shortening. Melt for 30 seconds at at time, stopping to stir in between. Once it is liquid, take either a paintbrush or just the back of a small spoon and spread a circular amount in the middle of the strawberry. Allow this to harden. This can be sped up by putting them in the fridge.
- Once the chocolate is hard, put the white frosting in a bag with a small tip, or the smallest corner cut off. Pipe little lines on the top and bottom of the chocolate to form the teeth.
- Set the strawberry on top of the green frosting.
- Eat and enjoy! Keep covered when not serving.
Notes
Cupcake recipe Adapted from: Live, Love & Sugar
Look inspired by: Yummy Crumble
DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS, SO YOU DON’T LOOSE THIS! BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PINTEREST BOARDS.
Looking for other allergy-friendly Halloween treat? Try these favs:
Allergy-friendly Monster Eye Balls
Gluten & Dairy Free Mummy Pretzels
Allergy Friendly Halloween Cake
Hi! I’m Megan, a mom to four kids, two with multiple food allergies & one with EOE. I’m a published cookbook author that constantly tweaks recipes to make them allergy friendly–it’s an addiction. I share every recipe & tip with you, to help you eat like you did before food allergies & dietary restrictions. You can still be awesome, even with food allergies!
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Heather
Can I swap out the gluten free flour for wheat flour in this recipe?
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Yes! Swap it 1:1 and then omit the xanthan.
Amanda
Spooky! The first thing that came to my mind when I saw these was “Little Shop of Horrors.” Of course this time it would be the humans eating the plant!
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We’re supposed to eat more “plant based” diet stuff…right?? 🙂 Haha.
Brianna
These are so creative! How did you come up with these? They are the perfect balance of cute and scary!
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Pinterest of course.
Jereann
Love these! So creative and fun! They are sure to be the hit of Halloween parties.
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Thanks! Yes, I hope people make and enjoy them for Halloween.
Sandi
This is such a fun and creative way to decorate cupcakes!!
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Thanks Sandi–it was a lot of fun to make!
Nicole
Super cute Megan! Or should I say….super “creepy”. ?
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Haha–thanks! It’s a little bit of both.
Kristina
these are just so cute – what a genius idea! I need to find a reason to make these… 🙂
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Thanks! Halloween is a great reason 🙂
Sarah
These are awesome! So fun and I love that they are allergen friendly so everyone can have one, all the kids will love these!
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Thanks! Yes, the more included, the better!
Chrystal
These are so cute and CREATIVE! I can’t wait to make them with my girls.
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Have fun! They’re perfect for kids in the kitchen.