Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes

Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes

These Halloween cupcakes are super fun to make with the children over the half term or if you're having a spooky themed soiree. Whilst the bright orange, spider-topped cakes are definitely geared towards the little ones, the glossy, rich and decadent chocolate ganache topped selection will hit the mark for the grown ups.

You could use any food colouring for the spider-topped cakes, we just went for orange as it's synonymous with Halloween and you could also use sweet laces for the spider's legs rather than icing pens if you prefer.

For the icing I'm afraid I jotted down my measurements in tablespoons as I threw it all together, which I've given below, which are hopefully easy enough to translate.

We grabbed a little Halloween baking set from Poundland which included two dozen spooky cake cases, and a variety of eerily topped cocktail sticks; perfect decorations for cupcakes.

The below makes six of each cake.

Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes

Here's how:
The cakes:

• 120g room temperature butter
• 170g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 170g caster sugar
•  2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp milk

For the spider topped cakes' icing and decor:

• x6 Giant Chocolate Buttons
• Black icing pen
• Red icing pen
• Blue and/or green icing pen
• 2 tbsp butter
• 6 tbsp icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk
• Orange food colouring gel

For the chocolate ganache icing:

• 60g dark or plain chocolate 
• 1 tbsp double cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• Drop of vanilla extract

Firstly pre-heat the oven to a low 160 degrees and line a muffin or cupcake tray with a dozen cake cases.

The cupcakes follow the super easy all-in-one method, which is great for kids! Add everything into a mixing bowl and mix well until a smooth cake batter is produced.

Divide between the cake cases and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until well risen and you can pop a skewer or cocktail stick inside and it comes out dry.

Once out of the oven, place the baking tray somewhere away from the oven and after five minute, remove the cakes and place onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

For the chocolate ganache, break up the chocolate and place into a small bowl with the butter, cream and vanilla. Place over a pan of boiled water on a low simmer and allow to gently melt down, use a wooden spoon to stir and ensure everything is fully melted. Then remove from the heat, set aside and allow to cool for five minutes until it's easy to handle. 

In the meantime, make the orange butter cream by combining the icing sugar, softened butter, vanilla  and mix well. Add the milk sparingly until the buttercream is at the consistency you'd like. Now add a drop or two of the orange food colouring gel, and then mix thoroughly. Repeat this process until you are happy with the hue and then spread over six of the cupcakes as smoothly as you can. 

Pop a Giant Chocolate Button in the middle of each of the orange-topped cakes and then simply add the eyes, mouth and spider's legs using the icing writing pens. 

For the remaining six cakes, use a spoon to pour over the thick and glossy ganache and allow to cover entirely. These are supposed to be rich and decadent, so don't scrimp here. Complete these by adding in a Halloween themed stick, right down into the cake so it stays in place. Enjoy!

If you are in need of further Halloween baking inspiration check out these Mummified Sausage Rolls, Chocolate Spider Biscuits or Halloween Biscuits that are are all great to make with the children this half term or in the lead up to 31st October.