Easy Halloween Cupcakes

With Halloween just around the corner it's time to start thinking about making some scary treats for all the family. I've come up with two easy Halloween cupcakes that are sure to get you in the mood for some trick or treating. They might look a little frighting (not sure that they do though haha) but they do pack a flavour punch.

Mummy Cupcakes
These cupcakes were a lot of fun to make and its amazing what a simple piping technique can create.  I went with a chocolate cupcake as I find they are always a winner. I used a wet batter recipe as I find it makes the cupcakes moister and with an addition of coffee in the batter, it heightens the chocolate flavour. To create the bandages I used a 104 Wilton tip and layered the frosting on top of each other in quick sharp lines. For the eyes I simply used a little bit of frosting for the white of the eye and a dark chocolate drop for the pupils.

Fluffy Monster Cupcakes
Fluffy monsters are scary ok? Just look at Monster Inc. Ok, I admit these don't look that scary but mixing up the fluff colours and you have yourself some pretty mean looking fellows. I used pink and green for my fur, however you can use any colours you desire. For the fluffy effect I used a 233 Wilton tip and placed two colours of frosting inside the piping bag. It might sound complicated, but trust me its so easy once you know how.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12

75g Dark Chocolate
175g Plain Flour
30g Cocoa Powder
185g Caster Sugar
1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
2 Eggs
120ml Coffee, Cooled
140ml Buttermilk
100ml Vegetable Oil

1 Pot of ready made vanilla buttercream
24 Dark chocolate drops
2 Coloured food gel

Preheat the oven to 160C, Gas mark 3 and line a 12 hole cupcake tin.

Place the chocolate in a food processor and blitz into fine pieces. Tip it into a large mixing bowl and stir in the rest of the dry cupcake ingredients.

Whisk the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl and then gradually add to dry ingredients, whisk together until silky and smooth. Pour the mixture into a jug and then fill the cupcake cases just over two thirds full.

Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Once cooked leave them in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

In a piping bag with the 104 tip attached, place half of the vanilla frosting inside and twist the end of the piping bag. Start by going around the outside of the cupcake to create a ring. Then go across the top of the cupcake in quick sharp lines to create layers. Leave a gap in middle and repeat at the bottom of the cupcake. Dip the chocolate drops in the vanilla frosting and then place in the middle of the cupcake to create the eyes. Once this is done, build up the bandages to create a variety of lines and directions. Repeat until six of the cupcakes are decorated.

For the fluffy monster cupcakes, place the second half of the vanilla frosting into two bowls, making sure you have equal amounts in both. Then place your desired food gel in the bowls and mix until you reach the desired colour.

In a piping bag with the 233 tip attached, take it in turns to add a little bit of each coloured frosting inside so that you have one on top of the other. Repeat until all the frosting is inside the bag. Twist the  end of the bag.

In quick sharp bursts, pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes so that you get a string like effect. You should see the two toned colours come through the frosting. Once all the cupcakes have been covered, place two chocolate drops on top for eyes.

And there you go, two quick and easy Halloween inspired cupcakes!