#HalloweenFoodFun ~ Spider Web Cupcakes

Happy almost Halloween!! I don't know about you but I have a very excited 4 year old in my house who is very excited about this holiday and anxiously counting down the days. She's excited about decorating and won't stop talking about costumes. I'm pretty sure she's going as Moana this year (you should see her hula dance every night in the shower when we play the Moana sound track - love!!!)

This is a super cute and easy decorative idea for Halloween themed cupcake tray - it's fun to do with the littles and could be easily adorned with some edible or plastic decorative spiders. I think that would be adorable. The chocolate cupcake recipe I included below is a super moist and tender cake recipe and I think would work well with mini chocolate chips as well if you wanted a little additional texture.

These are far from professional, and I really wanted to use black gel icing on the white background - but hey I didn't have much black left, but I did have pink and red and my pink princess absolutely loved this project and so I'll call that a Halloween Food Fun win. :)

Check out all the other #HalloweenFoodFun being shared today:

• Caramel Apple Cereal Bars by Palatable Pastime
• Creepy Eyeball Martini by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Halloween Party Mix by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Haunted Halloween Mini Cake by Making the Most of Naptime
• Mummy Cupcakes by Family Around The Table
• Mummy Dogs by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spider Web Cupcakes by Making Miracles
• Spooky Chocolate Bark Brownies by Amy’s Cooking Adventures

Spider Web Cupcakes adapted from Add A Pinch
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon espresso powder
½ cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Mix to combine.
3. Add in the milk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla and begin to blend on medium speed. Pour in the boiling water, and increase speed briefly until you have a smooth satiny batter.
4. Distribute batter between cupcake liner, filling about half to 3/4 full.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting adapted from Two Sisters Crafting

Ingredients

4-oz brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) salted butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until well blended and smooth, scrape down sides frequently to ensure all is evenly combined.
2. Add in the vanilla and blend in, again scraping down the sides. 
3. Add in the sugar and start the mixer out on low speed until sugar begins to incorporate, slowly increase speed (so sugar doesn't fly out of the bowl) until you can set to high speed for about a minute or two, until the mixture is evenly combined (scrape down sides as needed), smooth, and creamy.

FOR THE SPIDERWEB DECORATION:

1. Prepare cupcakes as directed and allow to cool. 
2. While cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting (feel free to use buttercream, or whatever your preferred frosting is instead).
3. Smooth a layer over the cooled cupcakes and pipe concentric circles (using gel icing) around the cupcake. Use a toothpick, drawing out from the center, to create the web shape. 
4. OPTIONAL: Decorate with edible or plastic spiders, etc.