Dark Chocolate Halloween Spider Cupcakes - Dairy Free
Here’s a Decadent Treat that’s So Easy to Make
Invite over a friend and make these cupcakes. I’m not kidding. We had such a good time, and the dark chocolate with a hint of espresso tastes amazing.
Possibly the best part of making these cupcakes was lining up the little ‘spiders’ for their photo op – two-by-two, creepy-looking mobs, or eyes peering over the paper cups. Usually Rebel does our photo shoots, but this time I also jumped in and tried a few shots.
I got these cute little wire, spider cupcake holders at Crate and Barrel a few years ago, some for me and some for my girls, Rebel and Elyse. The cupcake holders are discontinued now, but a quick search online turned up several options for “spider cupcake holders” at other stores. We found a similar one on Amazon as well.
We found the decorative paper cups on a blog supplies shopping trip at Home Goods. They come in smaller and larger sizes than the usual paper cupcake liners. Because they’re deeper, I didn’t want to fill them quite full because I thought that in order for the centers to fully bake the outer layer would end up dry. It worked out fine.
Funny thing, when we ate the cupcakes, we couldn’t figure out how to remove the heavy wrappers. They don’t peal away easily. Still, we did like the way they look.
Sugar eyes are the perfect finishing touch for ‘spider’ cupcakes. They come in different sizes – last year I used even larger ones, and they were really cute. I learned the hard way, though, be sure to plan ahead and pick up some sugar eyes before the holiday rush. I was able to order them from Amazon, but this year Rebel and I picked them up early, in-store at Michael’s.
Taste Test Kitchen
Cupcakes are a fun treat. For flavor and texture, I usually prefer a slice of cake. This recipe surprised me with its deep layers of chocolate and moist texture. The trick is the boiling water added at the end. This reminded me of old-fashioned cake recipes, so I went online to find out just why you add boiling water. Turns out it helps fully dissolve the cocoa powder (and espresso) and lets the flavor ‘bloom’ and develop into a rich chocolate taste. Such a simple step for an incredible result.
I first learned about black onyx cocoa powder at our favorite spice shop in Colorado. The shop owner told me the basic rule for substituting in black onyx – add to the regular cocoa powder half (or less) as much of the black onyx cocoa powder. For example, if the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of Dutch process cocoa powder, change that to 1/2 cup Dutch process and 1/4 cup of black onyx. I’ve done this in many of our favorite recipes and it’s always a terrific upgrade. Since you typically use 2-4 tablespoons per recipe, a small bag lasts a long time.
We’re often trying to make things slightly healthier, so I also decided to use coconut sugar, which I think really compliments chocolate in baked goods. It’s also better for you than white sugar (lower glycemic), and I’ve found I can cut the quantity some because of its flavor.
A Weekend of Cupcakes
Last year I used the sugar eyes for the first time with the spider cupcake holders. It was really cute, except for the yellow shade of the frosting. This year, we decorated half of the batch of cupcakes with a simple white icing so the sugar eyes would really pop.
The simple white icing makes for a kid friendly, less rich version than with the chocolate frosting. It’s a great backdrop if you want to decorate with candies, sprinkles or orange or purple frosting to make other Halloween designs (or another holiday or birthday theme).
The second half of the batch we saved for my husband, Keith’s, birthday. It worked great to make these cupcakes two days ahead and then frost them the day we served them. For his birthday, I made a rich Black Onyx ‘Buttercream’ Frosting that used the same black onyx cocoa powder and espresso as the cake. He loves double chocolate desserts. The whole family loved the cupcakes, and some people had seconds, or thirds. Rebel had figured out how to eat the cupcakes out of the fancy paper cups – with a fork, of course.
These really are some of the best cupcakes I’ve tasted, and they were so quick and easy. I think this will be my new go-to chocolate cupcake recipe.
~ Lee
P.S. Take your time. Maybe you’ll have better success not dripping batter all over the cups - although Rebel thought it added to the creepiness factor.
P.P.S. Can’t wait to hear how your cupcakes turn out. Let us know if you choose the white icing or chocolate frosting and how you decorate them. Leave us a photo on our pin for this recipe on Pinterest.
- 2 cups flour (or gluten free flour mix)
- 1 3/4 cups coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup black onyx (dark chocolate) cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 cup almond milk
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- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup boiling water
White Glaze Icing: - 2 1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons shortening (or vegan margarine)
- 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
