Here's a frightening thought: It's almost Halloween, and you have to scare up a dessert for a neighborhood or classroom party. Fear no more. You can rest in peace with these easy, spooky cupcakes. They require no special decorating skills or equipment, though you might want to make a special trip to a craft store to get a few good props, such as candy eyes and plastic insects.
Tips for decorating:
> Choose one or two kinds only --- otherwise you'll be up half the night decorating cupcakes.
> Make all the elements --- cupcakes, frosting, extras --- before you start assembling.
> Make extra spiders, gravestones and/or ghosts to allow for breakage and other minor disasters.
> Make your own batter but it's OK to use a mix
Just about any layer cake recipe makes good cupcakes. (Yes, you can use a cake mix, but where's the fun in that?) Avoid poundcake recipes, unless you want very dense cakes. For nicely rounded cupcakes, defy the traditional instructions to fill cupcake molds two-thirds full and instead fill the molds about three-fourths full.
Where to find supplies
> Cake Art Party Store carries all the supplies you need for a deliciously spooky Halloween: cupcake molds, paper cupcake liners, candy eyes, prepared frostings, decorators' bags and tips (if you desire to use them), plastic roaches and rats, even cake boxes and plastic holders for cupcakes. 3744 Lawrenceville Highway, Tucker, 770-493-1305, www.cakeartpartystore.com.
> Michaels craft supply stores carry Wilton cake decorating supplies. For locations, go to www.michaels.com.
Icky Eyeballs
12 cupcakes
It's easy to see why these cupcakes have appeal: They're easy and creepy.
Basic Buttercream Frosting (see the end of this story for recipe)
Candy eyes (or black frosting and decorator's writing tip)
Red decorating gel
Frost the cupcakes with white icing. Smooth the surface.
Place a candy eye in the center (or draw one with black frosting)
Use red gel frosting to drizzle squiggly lines from the center of the cake to the edges, giving the top of the cupcake a bloodshot look.
Per eyeball: 364 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 3 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 17 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 96 milligrams cholesterol, 217 milligrams sodium.
The Best Rest
12 cupcakes
For the gravestones, choose cookies with a rectangular or oval shape, such as Murray Coconut Bars or Pepperidge Farm Milanos.
1 cup white chocolate chips
12 rectangular or oval cookies
Black edible color marker or black frosting and decorator's writing tip
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
2 to 3 drops green food coloring
Chocolate frosting (see the end of this story for recipe)
To make the gravestones: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat white chocolate chips at 50 percent power for 45 seconds. Stir, then heat 30 seconds at 50 percent power. Stir. Repeat as necessary until white chocolate is almost melted, then stir until it is smooth, taking care not to burn the white chocolate. Dip cookies two-thirds of the way into the white chocolate and gently shake off the extra, or use a small flat spatula to spread the white chocolate on the top two-thirds of both sides of the cookie. (The uncoated end will go into the cupcake.) Set on wax paper to cool and harden. When the white chocolate has completely hardened, use an edible decorator's marker or frosting to write "R.I.P." on one side of the cookies. Set aside.
To make the grass: Place coconut in a plastic container with a lid. Add green food coloring to the coconut; cover the container and shake until all the coconut is evenly colored.
Generously frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Halfway between the center and edge of the cupcake, push a cookie "gravestone, " uncoated side down, into the cake. Sprinkle the frosting with green coconut.
Per gravestone: 558 calories (percent of calories from fat, 45), 8 grams protein, 73 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 28 grams fat (11 grams saturated), 63 milligrams cholesterol, 509 milligrams sodium.
Ghostcakes
12 cupcakes
Several online versions of this cupcake call for Nutter Butter cookies frosted in white icing, but we prefer the smoother, more ghostlike look of white chocolate. Even easier: Skip the dipping/frosting step and buy Peeps marshmallow ghost candies instead of Nutter Butters.
1 cup white chocolate chips
12 Nutter Butter cookies
Edible color markers or black frosting and decorator's writing tip
Chocolate Frosting (or white frosting tinted orange)
To make the ghosts: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat 1 cup white chocolate chips at 50 percent power for 45 seconds. Stir, then heat 30 seconds at 50 percent power. Stir. Repeat as necessary until white chocolate is almost melted, then stir until it is smooth, taking care not to burn the white chocolate. Dip Nutter Butter three-fourths of the way into the white chocolate, or use a small flat spatula to spread the white chocolate over three-fourths of the cookie. (The uncoated end will go into the cupcake.) Set on wax paper to cool and harden. When the white chocolate has completely hardened, use edible decorator's markers or frosting to paint eyes and mouths on the ghosts. Set aside.
Generously frost the cupcakes in chocolate or orange-colored icing. Press the "ghosts, " uncoated side down, into the center of the cakes.
Per ghostcake: 529 calories (percent of calories from fat, 45), 7 grams protein, 68 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 27 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 35 milligrams cholesterol, 502 milligrams sodium.
Elegant Infestation
12 cupcakes
These cupcakes would have been lovely, if only vermin hadn't found them first.
Store-bought orange cupcake frosting (or Basic Buttercream Frosting tinted orange)
Plastic vermin (rats and roaches are available at Cake Art)
To generously frost cupcakes: Hold the frosting can directly above the cupcake. Squeeze the frosting onto the cake in a spiral pattern, starting at the outside and working toward the center. When you reach the center, lift the frosting tip as you release pressure, creating a decorative peak. (You can also use a decorating bag fitted with a large star tip, such as Wilton's No. 1M.)
Wash plastic vermin in dish detergent and water; rinse and dry thoroughly. Insert the toys into the frosting to make it look as if they are crawling over the cupcakes. Cut some toys in half and put the heads in one side and the tails in the other, so it looks like the critters are crawling through the frosting.
Per cupcake: 364 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 3 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 17 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 96 milligrams cholesterol, 217 milligrams sodium.
Spooky Spiders
12 cupcakes
Mmm .... spiders.
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup chow mein noodles
24 red-hot cinnamon candies
Basic Buttercream Frosting, tinted yellow
To make the spiders: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips at 50 percent power for 45 seconds. Stir, then heat 30 seconds at 50 percent power. Stir. Repeat as necessary until chocolate is almost melted, then stir until it is smooth, taking care not to burn it. Remove a few spoonfuls of the melted chocolate to a small bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup raisins. Spoon out a few raisins at a time, mounding them 4 inches apart on wax paper, to create 12 spider "bodies." (Make a few extra for backup.) To the reserved chocolate, add 1 cup chow mein noodles. Gently stir to coat the noodles. Scoop them out onto a separate sheet of wax paper. Select 8 of the most leglike noodles (1 to 2 inches long, with a slight curve) to arrange around each cluster of raisins, pressing gently into the cluster. Press 2 red-hot cinnamon candies into the clusters for eyes. Allow the chocolate to harden completely. (Spread any remaining chocolate-covered noodles on the wax paper to dry; you may need some backups if any legs break after the spiders set.)
Generously frost the cupcakes. Gently remove the spiders from the wax paper and place one in the center of each cupcake. Touch up the spiders with replacement legs, if needed.
Per spider: 134 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 1 gram protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 7 grams fat (3 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 19 milligrams sodium.
Financial Ruin
12 cupcakes
Question: What's scarier than a shrinking economy?
Answer: Nothing. Boo!
Chocolate or Basic Buttercream Frosting
Green decorating gel or green-tinted frosting and writing tip
Frost the cupcakes. Using green frosting or decorating gel, decorate the cupcakes with financial symbols and messages. Try not to think about your 401(k).
Per cupcake: 364 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 3 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 17 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 96 milligrams cholesterol, 217 milligrams sodium.
Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes
12 cupcakes
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Very dark, not very sweet chocolate cake makes this a perfect dessert for grown-up parties.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake molds with paper liners. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute, then beat in the egg yolk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again. Beat in the vanilla. Add 1/2 the dry ingredients and mix on low until just blended. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Stir in the melted chocolate.
Divide the batter among the molds. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes are dry and springy to the touch and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
--- Adapted from "Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, $40)
Per cupcake: 199 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 3 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 56 milligrams cholesterol, 100 milligrams sodium.
Golden Cupcakes
20-24 cupcakes
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
2 cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cupcake molds with paper liners. In a small bowl, sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the yolks, one at time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and beating until just combined after each addition. Beat just until smooth.
Divide the batter among the molds. filling 3/4 full. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until tops are firm to the touch and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on wire racks.
--- Adapted from "Joy of Cooking" by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker (Bobbs-Merrill)
Per cupcake (based on 20): 133 calories (percent of calories from fat, 38), 2 grams protein, 19 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 6 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 45 milligrams cholesterol, 82 milligrams sodium.
Chocolate Frosting
12 cupcakes
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
This frosting is really meant to be a glaze, but it spreads well when slightly cooled. The recipe is as simple as it is delicious.
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (or 1 cup chocolate chips)
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. (Or, heat the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for 45 seconds on 50 percent power. Stir, then heat 30 seconds on 50 percent power. Continue until chocolate is melted.) Let stand 5 minutes. Using a small whisk, stir in the confectioners' sugar, followed by the pieces of butter. If the frosting is too thin to spread, stir it for a few seconds over ice water. If the frosting is too thick or the butter does not completely melt, heat it for a few seconds in the microwave.
--- Adapted from "Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, $40)
Per serving: 106 calories (percent of calories from fat, 62), 1 gram protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 8 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 2 milligrams sodium.
Basic Buttercream Frosting
12 lavishly frosted or 24 moderately frosted cupcakes
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
This frosting can be left white or tinted with food coloring. To make orange frosting, use 1 to 2 drops red and 2 to 3 drops yellow coloring.
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk. If the frosting is too thick to spread easily, beat in an additional tablespoon milk.
Per serving (based on 12): 284 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), trace protein, 38 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 15 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 41 milligrams cholesterol, 157 milligrams sodium.
