Chef notes
These sweet and spooky cupcakes help set the scene for a festive Halloween party.
Special equipment: Orange, black and silver cupcake liners and toothpicks.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cake flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
- 4½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk, plus more as needed
- Black, purple and orange gel icing
Preparation
For the cupcakes:
1.Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
2.In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt on low speed with the paddle attachment for 1 minute.
3.Keeping the mixer on low speed, add the cubed butter and combine until the mixture resembles coarse sand, about 4 minutes.
4.In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5.Divide the batter between the cups and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
For the white frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the butter and powdered sugar. Beat with a mixer at low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Slowly add the milk. Add more milk as needed to achieve the desired thickness.
Decorate the cupcakes:
1.Top each cooled cupcake with 1 heaping tablespoon of the white frosting and spread evenly.
2.Using the gel icing of your choice, pipe 3 or 4 concentric circles of colored icing onto each frosted cupcake. To create a colorful mix, use orange, purple and black on four cupcakes each.
3.After creating the circles, grab a clean toothpick and, starting at the center of the cupcake, draw a straight line through the colorful circles to the outer edge of the frosting so the icing drags through the frosting. Repeat this 5 or 6 times around the circle to create a spider web-like design.
4.Repeat with the remaining cupcakes and place in the fridge to help set the cupcake's design.
5.Serve on a festive platter decorated with fake webbing and your favorite Halloween candy.
