Description
These Black and White Spider Web Cupcakes combine rich dark chocolate cake with fluffy marshmallow-infused buttercream and spooky spider web decorations made from black candy melts and stretched marshmallows. Perfect for Halloween parties, these cupcakes bring a creepy yet delicious treat to any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 1 dark chocolate cake mix
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup oil
- 3 large eggs
- black food coloring (a few drops)
- 24 black cupcake liners
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 jar marshmallow fluff (7 oz)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Decoration
- 1 package black candy melts (12 oz)
- 1 package miniature marshmallows (16 oz)
- 1 package black candy pearls
- 24 plastic spider rings
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350°F and place black cupcake liners into a muffin tin.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, and eggs. Add a few drops of black food coloring and mix well until the mixture turns grey.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Add the dark chocolate cake mix and cocoa powder to the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined.
- Fill and Bake: Use an ice cream scoop to fill each cupcake liner about two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 17 minutes, then remove and cool completely.
- Make Frosting: Beat softened butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in almond extract and marshmallow fluff until evenly combined.
- Pipe Frosting: Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M star tip. Pipe the frosting evenly over each cooled cupcake.
- Prepare Candy Melts (Optional): Melt black candy melts according to package instructions. Dip each frosted cupcake into the melted candy to cover about half to two-thirds of the frosting. Allow to cool completely.
- Create Spider Webs: Microwave 1 cup of miniature marshmallows for 30 seconds without stirring. Using bare or gloved hands, stretch two marshmallows into thin strands and arrange them on the cupcake to mimic spider webs. Each web will be unique.
- Add Spiders and Eggs: Carefully cut the ring part off of each plastic spider ring and place one spider onto each cupcake. Attach black candy pearls individually to the frosting and web for spider eggs.
- Alternative Web Method: If skipping candy melts, stretch the marshmallows directly onto the frosted cupcakes for webs, then add spiders and candy pearls as described.
Notes
- Messiness in the spider webs adds to the creepy Halloween aesthetic and is perfectly normal.
- Use gloves when handling melted marshmallows to avoid sticky hands.
- Allow dipped cupcakes to fully cool so the candy coating hardens properly before adding webs.
- You can customize cupcake colors by adjusting the amount of black food coloring.
- If black food coloring is unavailable, use a small amount of dark cocoa powder to deepen color.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 32 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
