A ghostly Halloween buttercream board is perfect for parties and get-togethers. Finish the easy Halloween dessert board with fresh fruit, mini muffins, candy, and your favorite cookies for dipping and dunking.
If you’re into sweet dips, give Oreo dip, whipped ricotta dip, or s’mores dip a try!
What is a Buttercream Board?
Since butter boards first hit the scene, creative spins on the idea have popped up everywhere—including a sweet twist known as a buttercream board. Instead of savory butter, compound butter, or bone marrow butter, this version features rich buttercream frosting spread across a board, with fresh fruit, cookies, cake bites, and other sweet treats to scoop it up. Enjoy our festive take on the idea with a Halloween buttercream board in the shape of a friendly ghost.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Butter: Softened, unsalted butter is the base for the Halloween buttercream board. Replace the butter with softened cream cheese like I do for my cream cheese frosting for brownies, if you enjoy a tangy cream cheese frosting.
- Sweetener: Use powdered sugar and vanilla extract to sweeten the dip.
- Cream: Get the right consistency with a small amount heavy cream.
- Salt: Offset the sweetness with a pinch of salt.
Additions and Substitutions
- Create a design. Create a pumpkin, Frankenstein, witches hat, skull, or cauldron shape using the buttercream instead of a cute little ghost. And if you don’t feel like creating a specific shape but still want to be festive, consider mixing Halloween sprinkles into the buttercream. You can also serve the frosting to a cute Halloween bowl surround by your favorite dippers.
- Add Fall spices. Stir ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice into the frosting for additional fall flavor.
- Mix it up. Incorporate crumbled cookies, sprinkles, or candy into the frosting similar to Oreo dip.
- Change the flavor. A splash of good-quality vanilla extract adds a sweet flavor, but experiment with almond, orange, or lemon extract for a different flavor.
Tools Used to Make This Recipe
Process the buttercream dip with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Spread the frosting on a charcuterie board, large cutting board, or serving platter using a piping bag or silicone spatula.
How to make a Halloween Buttercream Board
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Beat the softened butter on high speed until it is smooth and creamy using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Step 2: Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing on a low. Then, add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and salt. Beat on a medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and use it to form the outline of a ghost. Then, fill in the ghost with the remaining frosting.
Tip: Watch this video for instructions on how to use a decorating bag or piping bag.
Step 4: Give your ghost some personality by adding candy eyes or Oreo cookies for the eyes, and use icing to outline and decorate the face however you like!
Step 5: Arrange dippers like fruit, cookies, and baked goods around the board. If you notice gaps or holes, fill them with candy, nuts, and popcorn for a festive fall look.
Expert Tips
- Prepare your ingredients. Use butter softened at room temperature and sifted powdered sugar to create a smooth, lump-free frosting.
- Mix the butter first. Process the butter on medium speed for 2–3 minutes before adding the other ingredients to aerate the butter, giving you a creamy base for the buttercream frosting.
- Process the frosting. Once all ingredients combine, beat the buttercream for another 2–3 minutes to get it light and fluffy. If the buttercream starts to look greasy or too soft, the butter may be melting. Stop mixing and refrigerate it for a few minutes before continuing.
- Chill out. After mixing buttercream, refrigerate for 30 minutes to make the frosting easy to pipe or spread.
If you enjoy this Halloween buttercream board, try more appetizer recipes!
Dippers for a Buttercream Board for Halloween
- Fruit: Serve the Halloween buttercream board with sliced bananas, apples, pears, or strawberries.
- Cookies: Use your favorite cookies to scoop the buttercream frosting—Nilla wafers, Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, ginger snaps, wafers, and shortbread cookies are some of my favorites.
- Bakes Goods: Get creative with mini-baked treats such as mini muffins, cake bites, mini donuts, or pretzels.
- Fillers: If you notice holes in the board, fill them with caramel popcorn, candy pumpkins, Reese’s Pieces, candy corn, caramels, cashews, and peanuts.
What to do with the Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Enjoy the Halloween buttercream board on the day you make it for the best results, but you can store the leftover frosting in an airtight container for one week. You may need to stir or re-whip it to restore its creamy texture.
- Freeze: Consider freezing the frosting in small portions for easy use. Transfer it to freezer-safe containers or bags. Halloween buttercream will freeze for 3 months.
- Thaw: Defrost the leftovers in the refrigerator overnight.
- Repurpose: Use the leftover frosting to decorate everything from sugar cookies and cupcakes to sourdough discard brownies.
Halloween Buttercream Board
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer with a Paddle Attachment
- Piping Bag or Silicone Spatula
- 2-3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 candy eyes
- icing
- cookies
- fruit
- candy
- crackers
- nuts
- mini baked goods
- Beat the softened butter on high speed until it is smooth and creamy using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing on a low speed until combined. Then, add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and salt. Beat on a medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and use it to form the outline of a ghost. Then, fill in the ghost with the remaining frosting. Alternatively, use a silicone spatula to spread the frosting.
- Give your ghost some personality by adding candy eyes or Oreo cookies for the eyes, and use icing to outline and decorate the face however you like!
- Arrange dippers like fruit, cookies, and baked goods around the board. If you notice gaps or holes, fill them with candy, nuts, and popcorn for a festive fall look.
- Prepare your ingredients. Use butter softened at room temperature and sifted powdered sugar to create a smooth, lump-free frosting.
- Mix the butter first. Process the butter on medium speed for 2–3 minutes before adding the other ingredients to aerate the butter, giving you a creamy base for the buttercream frosting.
- Process the frosting. Once all ingredients combine, beat the buttercream for another 2–3 minutes to get it light and fluffy. If the buttercream starts to look greasy or too soft, the butter may be melting. Stop mixing and refrigerate it for a few minutes before continuing.
- Chill out. After mixing the buttercream, refrigerate for 30 minutes to make the frosting easy to pipe or spread.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.