In honor of Halloween, I thought I would share my spooky Halloween cupcakes that I made to share with some family and friends. Well there not really that scray and spooky. They're cute with spiders. Can spiders be cute? Kind of. These ones are. Okay enough with the rambling, here's the recipes and photos.
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
(from Martha Stewart's Website)
Makes 18 to 24 cupcakes
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil (I didn't have any safflower oil so, I used canola oil and it was fine)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix until smooth. About 3 minutes.
2. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book)
5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 teablespoons sugar
1 pound unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled*
1. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standard mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved. It should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips.
2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy and completely cool, about 10 minutes.
3. With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after eaxch addition. Once all the butter has been added, add the melted and cooled chocolate and the vanilla.
4. Switch to the paddle attachment and continue beating on low speed until all the air bubbles are gone, about two minutes. Use immiedately or buttercream can be store in air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to a month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth, about 5 minutes.
*To melt chocolate, chop chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl set over a pain of simmering water. Heat until chocolate is almost melted, then stir with a flexible spatula until completely melted. Remove bowl from pan and let cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
These cupcakes were super easy to make and I love how the whole batter is made in one bowl, hence the name I guess. I piped the buttercream with a Wilton 1M tip and sprinkled on some white non pareils ( I had to use the fancy french word, but they are really white sprinkles) and topped them with plastic orange and black spider rings. Delicious and kind of scary.
Enjoy!! And I hope you have a Happy Hallowen!!
