Broken Glass Cupcakes

Now, I feel the need to start the post off with a warning. These cupcakes pretty convincingly look like they are topped with bloody glass. While everything on the cupcake is perfectly edible, it doesn’t mean that shards of sugar candy aren’t dangerous.

I would caution anyone who attempts to make these to make sure not to serve them to kids. Or drunk people.

Or just make sure to dull the edges of the “glass” so that they don’t poke anyone’s cheek.

Okay, now that that is out of the way, how fun are these cupcakes!?! I have been wanting to make cupcakes like this for years and I finally found the time to make them.

They would make the perfect cupcake for a Halloween party, don’t you think?!

(Again, keep away from drunk people and children).

How to Make Them

The magic of these cupcakes is all about the “glass” and the “blood”. Other than those two elements, you can make any cupcake flavor and frosting you like!

I made my favorite chocolate cupcakes. But red velvet cupcakes would also be perfect for these!

I also recommend a vanilla frosting to really draw attention to the blood. I love this buttercream recipe, but if you are short on time (or patience), this one is great, too!

Now onto the fun stuff!

Sugar Glass

To make the sugar glass, start by boiling sugar, water, and corn syrup until it reaches 300 degrees F.

I actually like to remove it from the heat just before it hits 300 degrees so it doesn’t overcook and brown.

Then stir in a tiny drop of blue food coloring which will tint the molten sugar just a hint to make it look a bit more like glass (have you noticed that most glass has a bit of a green or blue color to it?).

Immediately pour the sugar mixture onto a lined baking tray. Aluminium foil seems to work best for easy removal. Rub with a bit of oil or baking spray to make it even easier.

Once the sugar has cooled completely, it should form a solid sheet of “glass”. Break it into pieces by tapping the tray (forcefully) on the counter or hitting it with some sort of blunt object (like a meat mallet).

Then set aside and get to work on the blood!

Strawberry “Blood” Sauce

I will be the first to admit that this step isn’t totally necessary. Lots of craft stores actually sell a blood gel that you can use for this very project. But if you want your fake blood to actually taste good, the read on!

First, combine strawberry jelly, jam, or preserves and corn syrup, sugar, and water into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and add some red food coloring. Then continue to boil for about 5 minutes until it has thickened.

Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove all the seeds from the jam.

Let cool to room temperature and has thickened up quite a bit.

If you want to add even more bloodiness to these bloody broken glass cupcakes then I recommend filling your cupcakes with a bit of the blood that you made or even just plain strawberry jam.

(If your “blood” doesn’t thicken very much, fill them with jam instead as the “blood” will just soak into the cake).

To do this, first, create a small hole in the cupcake using the wide end of a piping tip. Fill the cavity with the “blood” sauce or jam, then place the piece of cupcake that was removed back on top.

Once the cupcake is filled, you can start topping the cupcakes!

How to Assemble Them

To assemble these cupcakes, start by piping a generous portion of frosting on top. I recommend using a large piping tip that has lots of groves for the strawberry “blood” sauce to find it’s way in to.

Then stick the pieces of “glass” into the frosting and drizzle the sauce on top.

If the sauce is too thick, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen up before drizzling over the glass and frosting.

And there you have it: the super fun and awesome way to make your own bloody broken glass cupcakes.

Just remember, serve with caution.

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Recipes and Tools

Sugar Glass

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup corn syrup

• 1/2 cup water

• blue food coloring

Instructions

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water into a small sauce pan. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir sugar while boiling. Continue to boil until mixture reaches about 290-300 degrees.

2. Remove from heat and gently stir in a small amount of blue food coloring.

3. Pour the mixture onto a baking tray lined with tin foil and greased with oil or baking spray. Let cool completely, about 15 minutes.

4. Tap the pan on the counter to break into pieces once completely hardened. Use another blunt, hard object to make pieces even smaller, if desired.

Strawberry Blood Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup strawberry jam

• 1/4 cup light corn syrup

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tbsp water

• red food coloring

Instructions

1. Combine jam, corn syrup, granulated sugar. and water in a small sauce pan. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Stir in about a drop of red food coloring.

2. Continue to boil for about 5 minutes, or until mixture starts to thicken.

3. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Mixture should thicken slightly but still be viscous. If the mixture is too thick to drizzle, warm up in the microwave for about 10 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.