Halloween Cupcakes – What Jessica Baked Next

Ghost Cupcakes

It's spooky season and time to get ready for Halloween! Nothing screams Halloween more than these hellishly good Ghost Cupcakes. They're just as cute as they are scary!

Total Time 1

Servings 12

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

85 g dark chocolate chopped into small pieces
40 g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon coffee granules or powder
180 ml boiling water
105 g strong white bread flour you can substitute this with plain flour
150 g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium or large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White Chocolate Buttercream

150 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
300 g icing sugar sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200 g white chocolate melted and cooled slightly
Dark or milk chocolate chips for decoration

Instructions

To make the cupcakes: Place the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and coffee granules/powder (if using) in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the boiling water over and whisk until smooth and all the chocolate has melted. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 12-hole cupcake/muffin tin with paper cases. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda until thoroughly combined. Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla into the now cooled chocolate mixture. Finally, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
Divide the batter between the paper cases – I find using an ice cream scoop best for doing this as it makes less mess. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until the cupcakes are well risen and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes and then transport to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
To make the buttercream: Cream the butter for about a minute or two to soften. Now add the sifted icing in two batches and beat for another 2-3 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and double cream.
Mix in the melted chocolate until just combined and decorate the cupcakes as desired - I use a large round piping tip to create the ghost shape. Decorate each cupcake with a couple of chocolate chips for the ghosts eyes. The cupcakes will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Fluffy and moist pumpkin spice cupcakes topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. My new favourite autumn cupcake recipe and a must try for all pumpkin lovers!

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a brilliant weekend! Wow! How fast is time flying?! We’re already halfway through October and that means Halloween is just around the corner!

I’m super excited to be sharing my first ever pumpkin recipe on the blog and there’s no better recipe to share than homemade pumpkin cupcakes swirled with cream cheese frosting!

I finally bought my first can of pumpkin puree the other day. I’ve held off until now but as autumn is in full swing now and Halloween fast approaching it seemed the perfect opportunity to start sharing some pumpkin recipes with you all.

The funny thing is, in the US everyone seems to be crazy for pumpkin but in the UK we don’t seem to embrace it as much. Using pumpkin in sweet baking is a totally new thing for me and at first it seemed seriously weird. After taking a bite of one of these cupcakes I soon realised pumpkin is a very versatile ingredient and brilliant in both savoury and sweet baking.

The cupcake batter is super easy to make. I love the combination of spices in these cupcakes. Each cupcake is topped with cream cheese frosting which is smooth, fluffy and has the perfect tanginess which compliments the spiced flavour in the cupcakes. I have to admit, I cheated this time and used pre-made frosting. This is because I had a frosting fail at the weekend but it is ok to cut corners sometimes!

Because Halloween is nearing closer I gave a few of the cupcakes some Halloween inspired decorations, hence the spooky Halloween scene and styling! 🙂 I topped some of these gorgeous spiced cupcakes with marshmallow pumpkins. But even without all the decorations these cupcakes will be amazing. Serve the cakes on platters at Halloween parties this year they will go down a treat!

(Makes 12)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes –

195g (1 and ½ cups + 2 tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

130g (2/3 cup) granulated or caster sugar

90g (1/2 cup packed) light brown sugar

120ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (canola or a light olive oil can be used)

2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

200g (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Decoration –

Frosting – cream cheese, chocolate, vanilla, marshmallow will all work well

Sprinkles, sweets/candy

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 Fan / 180 C / 350 F. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
To make the cupcakes: In a small mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. Leave to one side.
In a medium mixing bowl cream the sugars together until combined. Add the oil and blend until mixed fully. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. Finally, mix in the pumpkin and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture in two batches and fold to combine. Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure it is well blended.
Divide the cupcake batter between the paper cases. Make sure you fill each cup about 3/4 of the way up. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean without any uncooked batter remaining. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 3 minutes then carefully remove and transport to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost and decorate. The frosted cupcakes will store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Best served at room temperature. I also recommend decorating these just prior to serving.

Recipe from Cooking Classy