These sweet treats will WOW every party table! Get creative with your decorating and let the kids join the fun!
MAKES: 2 ½ CUPS FROSTING
INGREDIENTS
BUTTERCREAM
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 lb confectioners’ sugar
Pinch salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk, at room temp
COLOR
1 Orange Color Kitchen Color packet
1 Green Color Kitchen Color packet
1 tbsp Black cocoa
DECORATE
Cadbury’s chocolate fingers, or mini peanut butter cups
Mini chocolate chips
Piping tips: medium closed star tip (Ateco 845) , medium flat tip (Wilton 45), size 1 round tip
Candy eyeballs
DIRECTIONS
Start with your favorite cupcake recipe.
Make buttercream. Using an electric mixer or stand mixer (with paddle attachment), in a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and salt on low speed until incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat to dissolve the sugar, 2 minutes. Add vanilla and milk mix until just combined. The buttercream should be soft but firm enough to pipe.
To make black buttercream, place black cocoa in a small bowl and combine with water (about 2 tsp) to make a smooth paste. Mix with ½ cup buttercream and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
To make Frankenstein, spread cupcakes with green buttercream. Holding the cupcake at an angle, dip the top ⅓ of cupcake in a bowl of mini chocolate chips to coat. Fit a piping bag with a small round tip and fill with black buttercream to pipe eyes, nose, mouth and scars. Use small pieces of chocolate finger cookies or mini peanut buttercups and gently press into sides of face for the bolts.
To make pumpkins, fill a piping bag fitted with a medium closed star tip (such as Ateco 845) with orange buttercream. Pipe four curved lines the length of the cupcake, finishing in a point at one end. Place chocolate cookie or peanut butter cup for the pumpkin stem. Fit a piping bag with a small round tip and fill with green buttercream. Pipe pumpkin vines around the stem.
To make a mummy pumpkin, spread cupcakes with orange buttercream. Place a chocolate cookie or mini peanut butter cup for a stem. Fit a piping bag with a small round tip and fill with black buttercream to pipe triangular, nose and zig-zag mouth. Fit a new piping bag with a flat tip (Wilton 45) and fill with white buttercream. Pipe over the cupcake in a zigzag pattern, leaving gaps so you can see underneath. Place two candy eyeballs for the eyes on top.
To make skeleton, spread cupcakes with white buttercream. Fit a piping bag with a small round tip and fill with black buttercream to pipe a mouth, heart-shaped nose, slanted eyes and eyebrows.
~Anna Helm Baxter