Chocolate Spider Web Cupcakes

Autumn is my favourite times of year because there are so many wonderful activities to look forward to, like cosy evenings, pumpkin spiced lattes, autumn walks, pumpkin picking, and of course Halloween. 


It's time to start planning costumes, deciding which sweets to buy for trick or treaters and get into the kitchen to make some spooktacular treats. With Halloween, anything goes! Pumpkin muffins, bloody eggs, monster krispy treats to brain cake, worm jelly and hotdog bloody fingers. Eurgh, gross! But it's Halloween. 


But of course, it's never a bad idea to stick to a Halloween classic - CHOCOLATE! It is always something that goes down well with children, parents, friends and trick or treaters. These cupcakes are covered in marshmallow webbing that is made by melting down mini marshmallows and using your fingers to stretch the gooey mixture over a chocolate cupcake. It messy but lots of fun! You could add a little fright into every bite and make chocolate spiders to add onto the top. They are the perfectly frightful finishing touch.


To make these chocolate spider web cupcakes you'll need:

For The Cupcakes:

100g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
140g caster sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
40g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
120ml whole milk
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

For The Decoration:

50 g White Mini Marshmallows
75 g Milk Chocolate
25 g Icing Sugar
1 tbsp of warm water

First, make the chocolate spiders. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Stir the mixture until smooth and remove the bowl from the heat and gently stir. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly then transfer to a piping bag.

Lay a piece of parchment paper onto a baking tray. Then snip the corner of the piping bag and drizzle the chocolate onto the baking paper into to small circles with eight legs joined to the body.  My first go at making a spider was not spider like, more of a blob with stubby legs, but you'll soon get the hang of them. 

Leave to set for a couple of hours until the chocolate is firm. For the eyes, sift the icing sugar into a small mixing bowl and stir in enough water to create a smooth mixture, then add into another piping bag. Simply snip a small corner and pipe two tiny eyes on the spiders. Or you can use the white sprinkles out of hundreds and thousands too, if you're pressed for time. 


Now for the cupcakes. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases. Put the flour, sugar, pinch of salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Using a large bowl or free standing mixer, combine the eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until you have a smooth mixture. Divide the mixture between the cases, then bake for 20 mins until risen. Leave to cool.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes until firm to the touch. Afterward, remove the tray and allow it to cool for a few minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling. Once the cupcakes are cool, you can decorate them.

Place the marshmallows in a heat proof bowl and warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds until the marshmallows have melted. Stir the melted marshmallows and allow to cool until they are cool but still warm enough to stretch. With a teaspoon of the melted marshmallow mixture, make web strings between your fingers.

Stretch the strings over each cupcake, winding around the cupcake so that it resembles a spider web. Place one of the chocolate spiders on each of the cupcakes to finish. That's it! You will have some spooktacular chocolate spider web cupcakes to give you a little treat when fright night comes around. 

Will you have a go at making these cupcakes?

2 comments

  1. These look amazing and so delicious! I can imagine kids would love making them too. The final effect is really eye-catching. :-) xx

    Helen | Helen’s Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog

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  2. These look amazing! Not sure if my little one will be brave enough to "eat" a spider!

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