Maude McEerie’s here again with another of her Halloween recipes. This time, she’s made some super-spooky cupcakes and decorated them in her favourite Halloween colours. These cupcakes make perfect party food, or you could just enjoy them with a bewitching brew! Why not let the kids join in and help decorate them, but remember, the scarier the better!!!

Ingredients (makes 9 large cupcakes)

For the cake mixture

  • 125g plain flour
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 50g butter
  • 1 free-range egg
  • 8 tbsp milk

Spooky cupcake ingredients

For the icing

  • 125g icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp water
  • orange and black food colouring

How to make

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a muffin tray with 9 paper cases.

Step 2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and butter and beat the mixture until completely combined.

Step 3. Whisk in the egg and milk until the mixture is thick and smooth.

mix the cupcakes

Step 4. Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until a skewer poked into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Bake cupcakes in oven. Leave to cool

Step 5. Time to make the icing. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add the water, a bit at a time, until you have a smooth consistency. The icing must be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it’s too thick, add a few more drops of water. If it’s too thin, add a bit more sifted icing sugar. Remember to do this little by little.

Make the icing for your cakes

Step 6. Set aside a small amount of icing for decoration and add the black food colouring a drop at a time (you could also use a black icing pen). Then divide the rest in half and add orange food colouring to one batch (if desired), again a drop at a time. Spread the orange or white icing evenly over your cakes, using the black to decorate. Try pumpkins, ghostly faces or even spiders’ webs!.

Add black icing for decoration

Step 7. Try to resist eating them straight away (difficult we know!) and leave for 20 minutes to allow the icing to set.

Step 8. Serve at your Halloween party, give to the kids for a treat or just enjoy with a cuppa!

For a really spooky treat, display your cupcakes in these scary spider cupcake holders, or pop them on this haunted-house cupcake stand. And remember, we’ve loads of Halloween craft and baking items online at Wilko.com or in your nearest store!

 Why not try your hand at some of our other Halloween baking ideas:

Maude’s Pumpkin Soup

Terrifying Tombstone Brownies

Monstrously Moreish Chocolate Rocky Road

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