Creepy Pumpkin Cupcakes [Recipe]

INGREDIENTS – CUPCAKES:
250 g | 9 oz plain flour (all-purpose flour)
200 g | 7 oz sugar
250 g | 9 oz grated pumpkin
200 ml | 7 fl oz sunflower oil
40 g | 1.5 oz hazelnuts
40 g | 1.5 oz almonds
50 g | 2 oz raisins
4 eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ tsp fine sea salt

INGREDIENTS – FROSTING:
300 g | 10 oz icing sugar
150 g | 5 oz butter
200 g | 7 oz cream cheese
1-2 drops of food colour or flavours as per your preference. (I prefer to use neither – the frosting is delicious on its own.)

Note that in the video I have included egg whites in the frosting. However, I prefer the frosting without egg whites, so I have left them out here.

INGREDIENTS – CHOCOLATE SPIDERS:
100 g | 3.5 oz dark chocolate (50% cocoa or better)

METHOD – CUPCAKES:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚ C (355˚ F).
2. Put the nuts into a food processor and blitz until roughly chopped. Remove to a separate bowl and save for later.
3. Put the sugar, oil and eggs into the mixer and blend for about a minute until slightly thickened.
4. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix for about 1 minute.
5. Remove the blade from the mixer. Add the raisins, chopped nuts and pumpkin.
6. Fold the new ingredients into the batter.
7. When the ingredients are well combined you are ready to fill your cupcake cases. The mixture should be just beginning to fizz from the bicarbonate of soda. You need to move to get the mixture into the oven while the baking soda is working.
8. Pour the batter into cupcake cases.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and a cocktail stick inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean.

METHOD – CHOCOLATE SPIDERS:
I’ve topped my cupcakes with chocolate spiders. If you plan to use these, make them while the cupcakes are cooking and cooling as they take some time to set.

If you plan on making the spiders I strongly recommend that you watch the video, available here. It’s actually not as complicated as it looks and even if they don’t turn out quite right the kids will have a blast making them. However, if you don’t fancy making them you could use spider-shaped chocolates or sweets or other Halloween-shaped sweets which are widely available in supermarkets at the moment.

1. Melt 100 g (3.5 oz) of dark chocolate in a bowl over a pot of gently simmering water.
2. When the chocolate is full melted and smooth, remove from the heat and allow to cool – it’s too hot to handle just yet.
3. While you’re waiting for your chocolate to cool, prepare a sheet to make your spiders. On a piece of baking paper, measure out 96 x 2 cm lines – 8 per cupcake. These will be used to create the legs. (I suggest making extra legs – they break quite easily!)
4. Draw two small dot about 5 mm above each line, one about 5 mm from each end. (The dots are just visible in the video.) These will be the points for the “knees” of each leg. You don’t need to be too precise with this – as long as the legs are arched and not straight lines you will be able to stand them up to create your spiders’ legs.
5. For the body, first draw around a penny, then add a small circle above as the head.
6. Lay the baking paper on a baking sheet or other firm surface so that you can move it to the fridge once you’ve piped your chocolate shapes.
7. Spoon some of the melted chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a “writing” nozzle. If you don’t have a piping bag just use a disposable food bag, as I have in the video, using a cocktail stick to put a very small hole right in the corner of the bag for piping.
8. Start at one end of the line, draw up to the first “knee” dot, then continue to the second dot and on to the end. (Just draw around in a semi-circle if it’s easier! The knees look good, but they’re a bit of work!)
9. Use a 5 mm piping nozzle (or cut a 5 mm corner off a separate food bag) to create the bodies. Use the bag with the small hole for the heads.
10. Place the baking sheet into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.

METHOD – FROSTING & SPIDER’S WEB:

1. Put the sugar into a mixer.
2. Add the butter, cut into cubes.
3. Whisk until the mix is thickened and holds its shape.
4. Ice the top of a cake, making the top as smooth as possible.
5. Use the bag with the small (cocktail stick) hole, draw three circles on top of the icing – one small one in the centre, then two bigger circles moving towards the edge of the cupcakes.
6. Using a clean cocktail stick, gently draw from the central circle to the edge of the cupcake to create the individual sections of the spider’s web.
7. When your spiders’ bodies and legs are well cooled, create a spider in the centre of the web. First, add a body. Then add four legs on each side, pushing gently into the icing to hold in place.

And voila – your finished cupcake with spider’s web and spider! These are such fun – I really hope you give them a go! If you do try them please let me know how you get on – I’d love to hear your views! Enjoy!