Halloween Spider Cupcakes
These Halloween vanilla cupcakes are infused with a warm, comforting vanilla flavour, and their vibrant orange-coloured buttercream frosting adds a playful and seasonal twist. Topped with spooky Oreo cookie spiders. These cupcakes are sure to enchant taste buds and capture the Halloween spirit with every bite.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 Mosaic Non-stick muffin pan
- 1 Large open star tip 8B
- 1 Small round tip no 2
- 2 Decorating piping bags
Ingredients
Vanilla cupcakes
- 1 & ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 & ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter unsalted - softened
- 1 cup sugar granulated
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream 35 % or milk
White chocolate buttercream
- 2 bars white chocolate chopped
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 2 cups sugar powdered
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange gel food colouring
- 5 drops black gel food colouring
Decoration
- 12 pieces Oreo cookies
- 24 pieces eyes candies
Instructions
For vanilla cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) & line Mosaic muffin pan with cupcake liners to prepare for baking.
- In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer or a balloon whisk, cream together the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar, until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This typically takes about 2–3 minutes.
- Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then, stir in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are fully combined.
- With the mixer on low speed or a balloon whisk, gradually add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two parts, alternating with the heavy cream. Mix until just combined; be careful not to over mix, as this can lead to dense cupcakes.
- Using a scoop or spoon, evenly distribute the cupcake batter into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full. This will allow room for the cupcakes to rise as they bake.
- Place the muffin pan in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
For white chocolate buttercream
- Place the chopped white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it in 20-30 second increments, stirring well between each interval, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Be careful not to overheat and burn the chocolate.
- Allow the melted white chocolate to cool to room temperature. It should be smooth and free of lumps, but not warm to the touch.
- Cream the butter for 2–3 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar to the creamed butter. Start the mixer on low speed to avoid sugar clouds, then increase the speed to medium or use a balloon whisk. Continue to mix until the sugar is fully incorporated, and the mixture is light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix it in.
- With the mixer on low speed or with a balloon whisk, pour in the cooled melted white chocolate. Mix until the chocolate is fully combined with the butter and sugar, and the frosting becomes smooth and creamy.
- Reserve two tablespoons of buttercream in a small bowl, add a few drops of black gel food colouring and mix until all buttercream is well combined with black food colouring. Add more drops of black food colouring if needed.
- Take the rest of the buttercream and add a few drops of orange gel food colouring. Mix well until the food colouring is well combined. Add more orange gel food colouring if needed.
To assemble and decorate
- Prepare a piping bag with a large open star tip (Wilton 8B) and fill it with orange coloured buttercream, secure the bag. Prepare the same way the black coloured buttercream, but with a small round tip (Wilton no. 2), secure the bag and set it aside.
- Place the Oreo cookies and eye candies on a small plates. Set aside.
- Take the cooled vanilla cupcakes and start piping, with a round motion, the orange coloured buttercream. Two layers of buttercream are needed to fill well the surface of the cupcake.
- With the black buttercream, pipe the spider's legs on the side of the orange buttercream. Place the Oreo cookie right in the middle of the orange buttercream.
- Take more of the black buttercream and pipe two small dots of buttercream on the Oreo cookie to glue the eye candies.