Description
These Black and White Spider Web Cupcakes are spooky and delicious treats perfect for Halloween or any creepy celebration. Featuring rich dark chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallow fluff frosting and eerie spider web decorations made from stretched marshmallows, these cupcakes are both fun to make and impressive to serve.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcakes
- 1 dark chocolate cake mix
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup oil
- 3 large eggs
- Black food coloring, to achieve grey batter
- 24 black cupcake liners
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 jar marshmallow fluff, 7 oz
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Decoration
- 1 package black candy melts, 12 oz (optional for dipped cupcakes)
- 1 package miniature marshmallows, 16 oz
- 1 package black candy pearls
- 24 plastic spider rings
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare liners: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place black cupcake liners into the muffin cups to prepare for baking.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, and eggs. Add a small amount of black food coloring and mix well until the mixture turns grey.
- Add dry ingredients: Add the dark chocolate cake mix and cocoa powder to the wet mixture and mix until fully combined.
- Fill cupcake liners: Use an ice cream scoop to fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full with the batter.
- Bake cupcakes: Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 17 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool completely.
- Prepare frosting: Beat the softened butter using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar half a cup at a time, mixing well between additions. Add almond extract and marshmallow fluff and continue mixing until smooth and creamy.
- Pipe frosting: Place the frosting into a 16oz piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M star tip. Pipe the frosting evenly over the cooled cupcakes.
- Optional dip in candy melts: Melt the black candy melts according to package instructions. Dip each frosted cupcake halfway to two-thirds into the melted candy and allow to cool completely for a shiny black coating.
- Make spider webs with marshmallows: Microwave 1 cup of miniature marshmallows for 30 seconds without stirring. Using bare or gloved hands, grab about 2 marshmallows and stretch carefully into thin strands. Arrange the strands over the cupcakes to create spider web patterns.
- Assemble decoration: Carefully cut off the ring portion of each plastic spider ring with scissors and place one spider on each cupcake.
- Add finishing touches: Add black candy pearls one by one onto the frosting and spider webs to resemble spider eggs.
Notes
- Messy or neat spider webs both work well and add to the spider-web effect; imperfections add to the creepy vibe.
- Wearing gloves when handling melted marshmallows makes the process less sticky and easier to manage.
- If you prefer not to dip cupcakes in candy melts, you can skip the dipping step and apply spider webs directly onto frosted cupcakes.
- The almond extract in frosting can be substituted with vanilla extract if preferred.
- Use a small scoop for batter to ensure uniform cupcake sizes and even baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
