Chocolate Black Cat Macarons

So here it is Halloween! I can hardly believe. Once again, I’ve taken a break from blogging since Easter. Last year I did have a good excuse – major home renovation. This year? I got nothing. I won’t even try. But perhaps you will forgive me when you take a peek at these divine, spooky sweet Chocolate Black Cat Macarons I’ve whipped up for Halloween 2022! These sinful little delights boast a crisp outer shell surrounding a lusciously chewy center filled with a silky, dark as your soul, decadent chocolate ganache.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact, all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Our modern holiday of Halloween, actually has Irish origins. Today’s celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Or this Roasty Toasty Cocktail

A few year’s ago I managed to combined whimsical and boozy altogether in my Halloween treats with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

or how about these Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes

A couple of years ago, I had a howling good time making these little rascals:

Reese Cup Werewolf Cupcakes

I loved making these boo-tiful Spooky Ghost Cupcakes!

And last year’s offering was these diabolically delicious <a href="http://<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iLOaolI8Fgc&quot; title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen>Malted Chocolate Devil Cupcakes!

So yeah, I’m breaking out of the cupcake mold this year by going with these Black Cat Macarons!

Macarons can be notoriously finicky to make. I was definitely worried that the trick might be on me when I set out to make these, but I had taken efforts to get everything right. My egg whites were aged overnight, my bowls were wiped squeaky clean and I had sifted, pulsed in a food processor and sifted again. I had thoroughly read the recipe several times over. I found watching this video from Sugar Geek Show was also very helpful as far as my batter folding technique.

Truth be told, I didn’t get these to come out perfect the first time. My shells were cracked. Could’ve been I didn’t let them age enough to form the proper skin. Could’ve been I over mixed. Not sure. Yet, I persisted and Voila! So don’t despair ya’ll. Macarons are difficult, but not impossible! I think they are without a doubt worth the effort. And the good news is that even the ones that don’t look purty, still taste delicious!

All right, now that you’ve done all your prep work, get ready to make some amazing bakery quality level Chocolate Macarons! Now I realize I didn’t give you much time to get these done for Halloween – seeings how today is actually Halloween and this recipe calls for aged egg whites. But think of it this way, you will be more than ready to make these spooky macarons next year, or you could just leave the ears and kitty faces off and still be able to enjoy these fabulous treats. The choice is yours. I suppose if you are a real rule breaker you could just make these without aging the egg whites – but you didn’t hear that from me! I did make these Baileys & Coffee Macarons once and did not use aged egg whites. They came out just fine but from what I hear, aged egg whites are the preferred ingredient. But what the heck- Halloween is the perfect time for being naughty! Bake up a batch of these tricksy spooky darkly delicious Black Cat Macarons before the sun sets today! Happy Halloween ya’ll!

• Servings: 18
• Difficulty: moderate - attention to detail required!
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Sugar Geek Show – design inspired by Posh Little Designs

Ingredients:

For the Shells:

• 50 grams almond flour
• 114 grams powdered sugar
• 7 grams cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 57 grams egg whites aged overnight in the fridge and brought to room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 28 grams granulated baker’s sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the ganache filling:

• 2 ounces heavy cream
• 2.5 ounces dark chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Royal Frosting:

• 1 Tablespoon meringue powder
• 2 Tablespoons warm water
• 120 grams powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• green and black gel or powdered food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 320ºF and line a 1/2 baking sheet with parchment paper and a macaron template or a macaron silicone baking mat as I did.

Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and almond flour, twice if not blended.

Pulse the mixture in a food processor 8-10 times to make the almond flour mixture even finer and texture and to blend the ingredients together. 

Whip the egg whites on low to frothy consistency and slowly add the sugar in thirds.

Once the egg whites turn white and you can see some lines forming in the surface from the whisk, add cream of tartar, whipping on medium until soft glossy peaks form.

Add the vanilla to the meringue during the soft peak stage. Then continue whipping on medium-high until you get stiff peaks that start gathering and bunching on the inside of the whisk.

Add 1/3 of your almond mixture to the meringue. Fold your spatula under the batter and around the edges and then cut through the center until almond flour is mixed in. Continue with the rest of the almond flour and folding until homogenous. (see video)

Gently press the spatula on top of the batter while you turn the bowl to take out some fo the air from the meringue. Continue folding around the outside edge until the batter forms a ribbon and moves like lava. 

Your meringue is ready when it forms a ribbon off the spatula and the batter that settles almost dissolves all the way back into the rest of the batter but still leave a bit of a line. 

Place the majority of the batter in a piping bag fitted with a 1/4 inch piping tip – like a Wilton #12 or Ateco #802. Place a tiny bit of the batter in a separate piping bag fitted with a small round tip. This will be to add the ears to your macarons.

Pipe small rounds about 1″ in diameter on the macaron template.

Go back and using the second piping bag fitted with the small tip add the triangle ears to the top edge of every other macaron round, being sure that the ears level with the height of the round batter.

Drop the pan onto the table 5-6 times from about 5″ above the table to release bubbles. Use a toothpick to remove big pockets of air trapped under the surface. Use a very small amount of water on your fingertip to smooth any rough spots. 

Allow to dry, uncovered until a crust forms on the surface. About 30 minutes – 2 hours or until a dry film develops over the surface of the cookie. For humid areas put a space heater nearby to help dry the cookies faster. 

Bake at 320ºF for about 14-15 minutes or until lightly browned. If not quite brown baked, bake for an additional 1 minute. Cooled cookies should pull away from the parchment paper without sticking. If they do stick, they were not baked enough.

For the Ganache:

Place all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl and microwave for one minute. Let sit for 5 minutes then whisk until smooth. Heat for another 15 seconds if not fully melted. Place into the fridge for 20 minutes then whisk until smooth. It should be the texture of peanut butter.

For the Royal Frosting:

Combine water and meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add extract and whisk on medium high for about 2-3 minutes.

Mix in powdered sugar until combined.

The icing will be very thick. Add warm water a few drops at a time until the icing is the consistency of toothpaste. 

Divide the thick toothpaste like icing into 2 bowls

Add black food coloring to bowl 1 until desired colors are achieved.

Mix well. 

Transfer finished black icing to a piping bag and seal closed.

Add green food coloring to bowl 2 until desired color is achieved. 

Mix well.

Transfer finished green icing to piping bag and seal closed.

For Assembly:

Once shells have cooled, evenly pipe rounds of ganache into the center of the bottom of each macaron shell. Top with “earred” shells to create a sandwich.

Decorate top “earred” shell with royal frosting to make cat’s eyes and whiskers. Or use mini M&M’s for the eyes as I did. You can draw the pupil on with food safe markers and stick the eye to the macaron by adding a small dot of royal frosting on the back.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Black Cat Macarons:

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Cuisinart Food Processor

Simple Baker Silicone Baking Mat for Macarons

Oxo 3-in-1 Egg Separator

King Arthur Flour Almond Flour

Ateco disposable piping bags

King Arthur Baking Company Black Cocoa– This is how I got the deep dark color of the macaron shells without using food color

Vanilla Bean Paste

Wilton Icing Colors – Gel will not thin icing

Malted Chocolate Devil Cupcakes

Oh my, oh my! Would you just look at these little devils! Happy Halloween ya’ll! I know, I have been completely missing in action since back in early April. I have a good excuse this time…well kinda. You see, I actually didn’t have a functional kitchen from mid-April until the beginning of September! Get out, right?!! I might be exaggerating a bit there, but I promise I will explain in detail a bit later. Stay posted! But even once my kitchen was back in working order, the Husband and I went off to Iceland again. Yup, trip number 12, which I will also tell you all about it a short while. But today I’d like to share this recipe for these adorable little devils. Here you have malted chocolate cupcakes which are so moist and rich and are piled high with smooth, silky Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. Without a doubt they are sinfully delicious!

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact, all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Our modern holiday of Halloween, actually has Irish origins. Today’s celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

A few year’s ago I managed to combined whimsical and boozy altogether in my Halloween treats with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes

And a couple of years ago, I had a howling good time making these little rascals:

Reese Cup Werewolf Cupcakes

And last year’s offering was Spooky Ghost Cupcakes!

So that brings us to Halloween 2021: Malted Chocolate Devil Cupcakes!

Some of you might notice that I used this same recipe from Joanne Chang for that amazing Malted Chocolate Easter Cake that I posted about back in April. I sure did. You might just say I am obsessed with (or maybe possessed by – these are little devils after all…) it. Seriously, this malted chocolate cake is shamefully delicious. And my go to frosting is pretty much always Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I just adapted the recipe to make these little fiends for Halloween!

I will say that although I do love the Wilton Gel food colors, I really wasn’t able to get that deep red colored frosting I was hoping for, so I thought the sanding sugar worked out well here. You can add it or leave it out as you wish. Diabolically pink little devils can be fun as well.

There’s still time to whip up a batch of the naughty little indulgences before the sun goes down on this Halloween. So what are you waiting for? Get baking! Happy Halloween!!!

• Servings: 18 cupcakes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: Pastry Love by Joanne Chang

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

• 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) malted milk powder
• 175 grams (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
• 60 grams (1/2 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted after measuring
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 200 grams ( 1 cup) sugar
• 2 large eggs ( about 100 grams) at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk (about 20 grams) at room temperature
• 110 grams (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (such as canola)
• 240 grams (1 cup) whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Malted Milk Frosting (recipe noted below)

Vanilla Syrup (recipe noted below)

Black Fondant for horns and tails

Red sanding sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottoms of two regular cake pans with red foil cupcake liners. Spray the sides lightly with pan spray or very lightly brush with vegetable oil. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the malted milk powder, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the sugar, whole eggs and egg yolk on medium hight speed until the mixture falls back onto itself in ribbons when you lift the whisk up. Turn the mixer to low and slowly drizzle in the oil. Turn off the mixer and add about one third of the flour mixture. Turn the mixer on to the lowest speed and mix just until most of the flour mixture has been incorporated into the eggs, about 10 seconds. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the whisk. Add about half the milk along with the vanilla and turn the mixer back onto the lowest speed. Gently combine until most of the milk is mixed into the batter. stop the mixer and again scrape the bowl and the whisk. Add half the remaining flour mixture; mix on low until it’s mostly mixed in, then stop and scrape. Add the rest of the milk and mix again on low util it is mostly mixed in. Remove the bowl from the mixer , add the last of the flour mixture, and gently fold by hand with a rubber spatula until all of it is incorporated into the batter. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake tins.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans midway through the baking time, until the cupcakes spring back when you poke them in the middle and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when you insert it into the middle of the cake. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool in the baking pans on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make the frosting and vanilla syrup and set them aside.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, remove them from the tins. Using a pastry brush, paint and soak the tops of the cupcakes with the vanilla syrup.

Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip and fill it with the frosting. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Once all the cupcakes have been frosted, sprinkle with red sanding sugar if you desire and add the fondant horns and tails.

The frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Vanilla Syrup

Ingredients:

• 120 grams (1/2 cup) water
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the water and bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool before using.

The syrup can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge indefinitely.

Black Fondant Horns & Tails

Ingredients:

• One 4.4 oz package of black fondant

Directions:

Lay out a piece of parchment paper. Shape the fondant into 2 horns and one tail for each cupcake. 

Malted Milk Frosting

Ingredients:

• 135 grams (2/3 cup) superfine sugar
• 2 large egg whites ( about 1/4 cup or 60 grams) at room temperature
• 455 grams (2 cups or 4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 420 grams(3 1/2 cups) confectioners sugar
• 105 grams (3/4 cup) malted milk powder
• 2 Tablespoons whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• pinch of kosher salt
• Wilton Red gel food color

Directions:

In a medium metal of heatproof glass bowl, whisk together the superfine sugar and egg whites to make a thick slurry. Place the bowl over a small pot of simmering water, make sure the pot is small enough the the bowl sits above the water and not directly touching it, or you may end up with scrambled egg whites. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is hot to the touch, 6 to 8 minutes.

Pour the sugar-egg white mixture into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium high for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture cools. Add the butter bit by bit and whip on medium until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Add the confectioners’ sugar, malted milk powder, milk, vanilla, and salt and whip on medium until the frosting is smooth and satiny. Add red food gel color and mix until your desired shade of red is achieved.

The frosting can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Before using, let it sit out at room temperature for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight. Place the frosting in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until it smooths out again. It will look broken (curdled and very lumpy, possibly even separated with some liquid seeping out) for a while until it warms up, but don’t panic – just keep beating it and be patient.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Malted Chocolate Easter Cake:

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Ateco disposable piping bags

King Arthur Bensdorp Dutch Process Cocoa Powder

Carnation Malted Milk Powder or King Arthur Malted Milk Powder

Vanilla Bean Paste

Wilton Icing Colors – Gel will not thin icing

Pastry Love by Joanne Chang – LOVE this cookbook!

Black Fondant

Red Sanding Sugar

Spooky Ghost Cupcakes

Yay! It’s Halloween! And to celebrate the day, I have baked up a batch of these delightfully spooky Ghost Cupcakes! What we’ve got here is a dark as your soul chocolate chip filled fudge cupcake frosted with a silky pale as moonlight vanilla buttercream frosting. I adorned half of the cupcakes that I baked with marbled chocolate curls and the other with black sanding sugar (yeah, I know for some reason it looks green – just think of it as graveyard grass). Next, I topped them with an oh so scary, yet very delicious, little meringue spirits. Yeah, I do realize that these little ghouls lean more towards cute than creepy, but considering all that has gone on this year, I’m ready to take a big ole helping of cute.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact, all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Sadly, this year is definitely going to be a bit different. Don’t get me wrong – there is a whole bunch of downright scary, some would say absolutely terrifying, things lurking about out there. Things you definitely do not want to encounter. Not that we are venturing out. Like everything else so far in 2020, nearly all social Halloween events have been pretty much cancelled. Rightfully so, yet nevertheless disappointing. So, I’ll be staying in with the Husband and we’ll be dressing weird (actually we’ll likely be in our quarantine clothes…i.e. pajamas), boozing it up and binging on candy, all on our lonesomes.

Our modern holiday of Halloween, actually has Irish origins. Today’s celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

A few year’s ago I managed to combined whimsical and boozy altogether in my Halloween treats with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes.

And last year a had a howling good time making these little rascals:

Reese Cup Werewolf Cupcakes

Which brings me to this year’s offering: Spooky Ghost Cupcakes!

Just look at these ghastly little ghouls! The cupcakes are rich, fudgy and shot through with chocolate chips. They get their dark sinister shade from the black dutch process cocoa that I used. This cocoa gives baked items a REALLY dark chocolate flavor. To tame it down a bit, mix a little of it in with regular dutch process cocoa. That way you will get a deeper darker shade, but less of the bold, intense flavor.

The frosting is a fluffy vanilla buttercream which I have adorned with some marbled chocolate curls for some of the treats and with black sanding sugar on the rest. And finally, those adorable…ahem…frightful fiends perched on top are made from meringue.

Making meringue is pretty easy if you follow some helpful tips. Firstly the bowl and whisk that you use must be super clean. It can have no oily residue or the egg whites simply will refuse to whip up properly. To ensure it is grease free, you can put a bit of vinegar on a paper towel and wipe the inside of the bowl. The egg whites need to be at room temperature when you start to mix them. Begin at a low speed and slowly increase until you reach medium to medium high. Once the egg whites reach soft peak stage, start to slowly add the superfine sugar to the bowl. Stop mixing when you reach the stiff peak stage. Use a piping bag fitted with a round tip to make your ghosts. Once they are completely cooled you can add the eyes and mouth with a food marker, decorating icing or mini chocolate chips. The mini chocolate chips were pretty easy to use. I just gently pushed the pointy end of the chip into the dry meringue. I must say these meringue cookies are pretty fun as well as tasty. If you are short on time, you could even skip the cupcakes and just make a batch of ghost meringue cookies.

I will warn you that humidity is a terrible thing for meringues! They will absorb any moisture in the air and go from delightfully crisp and airy to sticky and chewy abominations! I had quite an issue with this in steamy old Virginia! The regular day to day weather here is not ideal, but I had the adding difficulty of making these meringues while enduring torrential rains from a hurricane that was passing by! I still managed to make it work, but I would be lying if I said no “colorful” language was heard on the day. So for those of you in cooler and drier climes, this should be easy peasy. But to be safe, once your meringues are cool, put them directly into an airtight container and put that container in a cool place out of any direct sunlight. I would recommend not placing the ghosts atop the cupcakes until right before you are ready to serve.

So what are you waiting for? These spooky specters are just perfect for any Halloween gathering. Ooops! Yeah, that’s not happening. But, I have no doubt that your family or quarantine pod will be delighted to be haunted by these little apparitions. Next year you’ll be ahead of the game and can unleash these unearthly revenants on the rest of society. Happy Halloween ya’ll!

• Servings: 24 cupcakes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: King Arthur Flour for the Bake Sale Fudge cupcakes and Buttercream frosting. Inspired by Baking Addiction for the Ghost Meringue Cookies.

For the Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (85 grams) Dutch-process Cocoa
• 2 1/3 cups (283 grams) All-purpose Flour
• 1 2/3 cups (354 grams) brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but tasty
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (255 grams) chocolate chips
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (340 grams) milk, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon vinegar, cider or white
• 1/2 cup (99 grams) vegetable oil (can substitute 1/2 cup butter if you prefer)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, oil, and vinegar. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing until everything is well combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling the cups about 3/4 full. I always use a 1/4 cup muffin scoop for this.

Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of one of the middle cupcakes comes out clean.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and as soon as you can handle them, remove them from the pan, and transfer to a rack to cool. Store cooled cupcakes airtight.

For the Fluffy Buttercream frosting:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (149 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) boiling water
• 1/4 cup (28 grams) meringue powder
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) vanilla extract
• 4 cups (454 grams) sifted confectioners’ sugar or glazing sugar
• 32 tablespoons (454 grams) unsalted butter
• black sanding sugar or marbled chocolate curls for the top of the cupcakes (you could also use chocolate jimmies)

Directions:

Dissolve the sugar (and salt, if you’re using it) in the boiling water, and cool to room temperature.

Use a mixer on low speed to beat in the meringue powder, until the powder is dissolved and the mixture is foamy.

Increase the speed and beat until soft peaks form.

Beat in the vanilla, then the confectioners’ or glazing sugar.

Add the soft butter a few tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Frost cake immediately; or store buttercream at room temperature, covered, for a few hours before using.

Once the cupcakes are frosted, add the marbled chocolate curls or sanding sugar as you prefer.

For the Ghost Meringue Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 4 large Egg Whites (room temperature!)
• 1/2 teaspoon Cream Of Tartar
• 3/4 cup Superfine Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract (can be omitted)
• mini chocolate chips, melted chocolate or black decorator’s icing for ghost eyes and mouth.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

In a large spotlessly clean bowl of a stand mixer beat egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla. Start with lowest speed and slowly increase until you reach medium speed and the whites hold a soft peak.

Gradually add in sugar and increase mixer to medium-high speed. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Spoon meringue into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.  Pipe swirls of ghost shaped meringue onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for about 1.5 hours or until the meringues are dry and crisp to the touch. Turn off the oven and allow the meringue ghosts to continuing drying in the oven for a few hours.

Decorate meringues with ghostly eyes and mouth and then move immediately to an airtight container for storage.

Wait to top the cupcakes with the ghost meringue cookies until you are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Spooky Ghost Cupcakes brought to you by Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Spooky Ghost Cupcakes:

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

 

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

 

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

 

King Arthur Double Dutch Process Dark Cocoa Powder

 

Meringue Powder or it is a bit cheaper here: King Arthur Flour

 

Wilton Graveyard Bones

 

Reese’s Cup Werewolf Cupcakes

 

There is absolutely no way you won’t have a howling good Halloween if you make up a batch of these terrifyingly adorable Werewolf cupcakes! And, not to toot my own horn or anything, but this year, just like last year, I am blogging about a Halloween recipe, prior to the actual date of the holiday. So yeah, I guess I’ll just say “Toot Toot!” Not only do these werewolves look irresistible, but they are also made with multiple Reese Cups – full size and minis, so they also undoubtedly taste irresistible to boot. I love Reese Cups, so I am totally psyched about these naughty little treats. Also I must say, Halloween is my favorite holiday! I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact, all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day!

Halloween actually has Irish origins. Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

 

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

A few year’s ago I managed to combined whimsical and boozy altogether in my Halloween treats with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

And last year was all about the whimsy with these

Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes.

I guess I’m still in the whimsical mood this year because I absolutely could not resist these Reese’s Cup Werewolves when I saw them over at Hungry Happenings.

She makes the most amazing creations there, so you should definitely take a peek. These little devil dogs were not terribly hard to make, but I will say they were a bit fiddly. You had to have a steady hand and plan ahead by piping out all the fangs ahead of time so that they would harden. But would you just look at the end result!! I don’t think I’m barking up the wrong tree when I say these werewolves are just perfection!

So, I’ve given you enough time to gather all your supplies to make these lovely lycanthropes. What are you waiting for? I just bet that you and your friends will be howling at the moon come Thursday night! Happy Halloween ya’ll!!!

• Servings: 24 Cupcakes
• Print

Werewolf Cupcakes inspired by: Hungry Happenings

Chocolate Frosting Recipe from: Sally’s Baking Addition

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup black coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 1 1/4 cup (290 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (420 grams) confectioner’s sugar
• 3/4 cup (65 grams) dutch process cocoa powder
• 3 – 5 Tablespoons (45 – 75 ml) heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Werewolves:

• Full Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• White Cookie Icing or White Candy Melts
• Wilton Candy Eyes
• Chocolate Candy Melt Wafers (for ears)
• Whoppers (malted milk balls)
• Candy Bones (or make them using white candy melts)
• Chocolate sprinkles (for eyebrows)
• Valhrona Chocolate Crunchy Pearls (for nose, you could also use a mini M&M)

Directions:

For the Reese Cup Werewolves:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the full size Reese Cups flat. Put a dollop of cookie icing on the top of a corresponding number of mini Reese cups. Attach the mini Reese cup “snout” to the full size Reese Cup. Place in fridge to harden.

Using White Cookie Icing or white chocolate melts, pipe “teeth” onto a sheet of parchment paper.  If you are making the bones from chocolate melts, pipe these out as well. Place this in the fridge to harden.

Cut unmelted chocolate melts into triangle shaped “ears”. Set aside.

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake tins with paper liners.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, add all the wet ingredients. With your mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix for 2 minutes. The batter will be quite soupy – this is ok!

Pour batter into the prepared cupcake tins, filling just slightly more than halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Cool cupcakes in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.

While you’re waiting for the cupcakes to cool, make your frosting.

For the frosting:

Place butter in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat it on medium speed until it is light and fluffy – approximately 2 minutes. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder. Add this sugar/cocoa mixture to the creamed butter 2 – 3 Tablespoons at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add 3 Tablespoons of the cream, the salt and vanilla. Beat on low speed initially, increasing until you reach high speed. Beat for 1 -2 minutes. Add more sugar or cocoa is frosting is too thin or add cream if it seems too thick.

Werewolf Assembly:

Frost  the cupcakes with enough frosting to hold the Reese Cup “wolves” upright.

Remove the Reese cups from the fridge. Using a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #233 tip, pipe frosting fur all over the prepared Reese cups. If you don’t have this tip, you can paint some frosting over the Reese cup and use a paint brush to give it a rough, fur-like texture.

Carefully put the eyes, nose and teeth in place.

Place the Reese cup on the frosted cupcakes. Push two malted milk balls (paws) in front of the decorated Reese cup and pipe “fur” frosting over them.

Add a bit more fur to the top edge of the Reese Cups so that you can attach the candy melt ears.

Place bone between paws.

Enjoy!

Reese’s Cup Werewolf Cupcakes brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Reese’s Werewolf Cupcakes:

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

Wilton Mini Candy Eyes 

King Arthur Double Dutch Process Dark Cocoa Powder

Ghirardelli White Candy Melts

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melts

Valhrona Crunchy Pearls

Wilton Graveyard Bones

Wilton #233 Decorating Tip

Wilton Cookie Icing

 

 

 

 

Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes

So woooo-hooo! This year I am on it! I am actually blogging about a Halloween recipe, prior to the actual date of the holiday. Last year I didn’t get my Halloween Cupcakes up on my blog until November, so quite an improvement. Now just look at these adorable Frankenstein Cupcakes I have for you this year!

And these cupcakes aren’t only cute…no siree! They are absolutely delish! The cupcake portion is a decadent Black Velvet cupcake, which is so moist it practically melts in your mouth and it is frosted with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting, which is my all time favorite frosting. Unlike American or Simple Buttercream icing which can be very heavy and taste somewhat greasy – this frosting is perfectly sweet light and fluffy.

Halloween is my favorite holiday! I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Halloween actually has Irish origins. Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

And last year’s Halloween treat which combined whimsical and boozy altogether with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening – Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

But let me get back to what’s on the Halloween treat menu this year: Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes.

I was inspired to make these when I saw Your Cup of Cake’s blog featuring them. You should definitely take a look at her blog before you decorate these little monsters. She has a video that shows exactly how she did it. However, she used a different cupcake for her cake portion, as well as a different frosting. I really adore these Black Velvet Cupcakes. Not only are they the perfect darkest of dark shade of black, but they simply taste amazing. And I’ve already told you how I love Swiss Meringue Frosting, so smooth and silky! So I made a few changes to the ingredients to suit my taste, but credit Your Cup of Cake for the perfect design!

All if all, these cupcakes are pretty easy to make. Decorating them is a bit fiddly. Getting the frosting smoothed to the correct shape for the Frankenstein head took some attention. The candy scars took a bit of time the way I did them, but I like the taste of white chocolate better than that gel frosting you find in a tube in the supermarket. Unwrapping all of the Rolo candies was a bit of a pain….But just look at these little monsters! The end, without a doubt, justifies the means here. Folks will go mad for these and you’ll be the belle of the Halloween ball! Sooo…I’ve actually given you enough time this year…what are you waiting for? Get into your laboratory – errr kitchen – and create a batch of these Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes today! Happy Halloween!!!

• Servings: 18 cupcakes
• Print

recipe: Frankenstein Design by Your Cup of Cake, Black Velvet Cupcake recipe: Craftsy

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1½ cups butter (room temperature)
• 2 1/2 cups superfine sugar
• 1 – 2 teaspoons black gel food color
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2½ cups cake flour
• 2 tablespoons baking cocoa powder (dutch process)
• 2 pinches of salt (approx. 1/8 teaspoon)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons of white vinegar (distilled)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder

For the frosting:

• 5 large (150 grams) egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 sticks (340 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• green gel food coloring

For the decorations:

• Wilton googly candy eyes – unless you want to make eyes with Ghirardelli white chocolate melts and M&M’s as described below.
• Rolo Candy
• Chocolate Jimmy Sprinkles
• Ghirardelli White Chocolate Candy Melts
• Red gel food color

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350° F and fill the wells of a cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. Add black food color until desired shade is reached. Remember – once baked the cupcakes will have a darker color. My batter looked more grey than black, but once baked the cupcakes were very dark.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla paste and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in thirds, adding buttermilk between each addition. Mix until just combined.

In a small bowl, mix the baking powder and vinegar together. It will bubble and fizz. Add it to the batter and mix until just incorporated.

Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup scoop, fill the lined cupcake tins.

Bake for  20 – 25 minutes

Cool completely on wire rack.

For the Frosting:

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice or vinegar to remove any trace of grease. Make a double boiler by placing the mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl, whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140°F, or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl no longer feels warm, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low-speed, add the butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated. Continue beating until it has reached a silky smooth texture. If the buttercream curdles simply keep mixing and it will come back to smooth. If the buttercream is too thin and runny, refrigerate for about 15 minutes before continuing mixing with paddle attachment until it comes together. Add the vanilla and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

Add green food coloring gel to frosting until it reaches desired hue.

If you would like to make this frosting ahead of time, keep in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let come to room temperature and rewhip in the mixer with the paddle attachment before using.

When you are ready to assemble the cupcakes, place frosting in pastry bag fitted with a large round tip & pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake. Use a knife or offset spatula to flatten the frosting. Turn the cupcake upside down and press into a bowl/plate filled with chocolate Jimmy sprinkles. Press on the eyes (see note below) and use an extra sprinkles to make the eyebrows and mouth . Use Rolo candies to make the bolts. You could also use chocolate chips, bits of a Tootsie Roll or maybe even a mini marshmallows. Press the bolts into the side of his head. Put on a little “stitch” (You can use red store-bought frosting, I used a gel food color to color Ghirardelli white candy melts.

I used Wilton Candy eyes on these Frankenstein cupcakes, mostly because I was a bit pressed for time. There is certainly nothing wrong with those candy eyes, and they don’t really taste bad, but for more tasty eyes you can melt some of the Ghirardelli white candy melts. Place the melted candy into a piping bag and then pipe out little white eyes onto parchment paper. Place M&M candies into the white chocolate before it hardens to make the “iris” of the eye and voila – There you have it – tasty candy eyes. For the “stitches” I colored the white chocolate with red gel food color and then piped it onto parchment paper. Once it hardened, I transferred the stitches to the Frankensteins.

Enjoy!

Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes:

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

Wilton Mini Candy Eyes 

Wilton Large Red Candy Eyes

King Arthur Double Dutch Process Dark Cocoa Powder

Ghirardelli White Candy Melts

Wilton Icing Color – Gel Food Color

 

Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes

So what in the world?!! I’m posting again so soon! Usually months go by between my posts. It must be some sort of Halloween miracle! It is just that I couldn’t wait to share these adorable Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider cupcakes with you. I made them for our Halloween festivities last night, but then ran out of time to actually post the blog about them. So even though Halloween is over, I’m sharing this recipe anyway. You’ll be all set for next year.

These cupcakes not only look fantastic, if I must say so myself, but they also taste amazing. The cake portion is a moist Guinness chocolatey, coffee cake. And then it is frosted with a smooth and velvety Baileys Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Oh be still my heart…I am in Cupcake Heaven! No wait….I mean to say the torturous depths of Hell (it is Halloween right?).

Halloween is my favorite holiday! I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Halloween actually has Irish origins. Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

This year’s Itsy Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes combine the whimsical and boozy together in one perfect Halloween treat! The little spider darlings (I mean horrible, terrible scary spiders) are fairly easy to make. I used two malted milk balls for the body and head (turns out Maltesers -the body- are slightly larger than Whoppers – the head), but you could also use a malted milk ball and a chocolate covered peanut. You get the idea. The legs are made with black candy melts. I piped them out onto parchment paper, let them harden and then attached them to the body with more candy melt. Then I used Wilton mini Candy eyes for their googly eyes. You could also probably use mini M&M’s here. And There you have it…. Itsy Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes!

Truth be told I am terrified of spiders, so it is a bit weird that I decided to make these cupcakes. And  I’m not one of those girly girls that is scared of all bugs and mice and snakes. Nope, I pretty much like most bugs – mosquitos excepted – but it’s more hate where they are involved rather than fear. Snakes are pretty cool and I love mice. But spiders….no way!  I keep trying to make a treaty with them in which I will leave them alone as long as they are outside, but they are not allowed to come into my house. Rather than squish spiders that do venture inside despite the treaty, I show them mercy by capturing them and escorting them outside- all the while telling them that they must spread the word of our treaty to their friends. Those jerks agree at the time (spiders are full of deceit..), however once they get outside unscathed, I think they tell their little spider friends that I’m a softie and they shouldn’t worry about going into my house. Sigh….spiders are the worst! I’m just saying!

• Servings: 20 - 24 cupcakes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Cake portion of the recipe from: Wife in Progress

Frosting recipe from: Handle the Heat

Ingredients:

For the Cakes:

• 3/4 cups Guinness
• 1/4 cup strong black coffee (or King Arthur Espresso Powder works well here)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sour cream

For the Frosting:

• 5 large (150 grams) egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 sticks (340 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 Tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream (or you could substitute Kahlua or your favorite)
• green gel food coloring

For the Spiders: 

• 24 Maltesers or Whoppers (Malted Milk Balls)
• 24 chocolate covered peanuts or raisins (or just use another malted milk ball as I did)
• 6 ounces Black or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts, melted
• 48 (or more if you prefer – spiders sometimes have lots of eyes!) Candy eyes (small size)

Directions:

For the Cakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)

Line 2 cupcake tins with liners.

In a large saucepan heat Guinness, coffee and butter together until it comes to a gentle simmer.

Add cocoa powder while whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Mix until smooth. Place in refrigerator to cool.

Place flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in bowl. Set aside

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs vanilla and sour cream.

Once the Guinness/cocoa mixture has cooled, add it to the egg/sour cream mixture. Mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, mixing on low speed until just combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup scoop, fill the lined cupcake tins.

Bake for 25 minutes

Cool completely on wire rack.

For the Frosting:

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice or vinegar to remove any trace of grease. Make a double boiler by placing the mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl, whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140°F, or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl no longer feels warm, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed, add the butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated. Continue beating until it has reached a silky smooth texture. If the buttercream curdles simply keep mixing and it will come back to smooth. If the buttercream is too thin and runny, refrigerate for about 15 minutes before continuing mixing with paddle attachment until it comes together. Add the vanilla and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

Add Baileys slowly, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and mix until well combined.

Add green food coloring gel to frosting until it reaches desired hue.

If you would like to make this frosting ahead of time, keep in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let come to room temperature and rewhip in the mixer with the paddle attachment before using.

When you are ready to frost the cupcakes, place frosting in pastry bag fitted with whatever tip you desire and pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Melt 6 ounces of Candy Melts in the microwave. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Pipe “L” shapes onto the parchment to form spider’s legs. Let harden.

Place a Malteser “spider body” on the center of the frosting. Place the chocolate peanut “head” in front of it. Pipe dots of melted chocolate on the side of the spider’s body to hold the legs in place. Gently place 3 – 4 legs on each side of the spider. Use a dot of the melted chocolate to stick the eyes onto the head.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Itsy Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes:

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

King Arthur Espresso Powder

Maltesers

Wilton Mini Candy Eyes

Merkens Dark Cocoa Confectionary Melts

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

It’s almost Halloween, which is my favorite holiday! And I have a great recipe to share with you – The Roasty Toasty Cocktail! Full of vodka and toasted marshmallow syrup, one small taste will conjure up autumn thoughts of Halloween bonfires and s’mores. It is just the perfect libation to sip while handing out candy to those adorable little trick or treaters. I must admit, it is a bit on the sweet side, so you’ll feel like you’re indulging in a bit of candy yourself. Why should the kids have all the fun anyway? But let me tell you… this candy cocktail is definitely for adults and has a much better kick to it than your average old Snickers bar! Guaranteed to keep you warm on the most chilly Fall evenings.

I found this delicious cocktail recipe through a fun company called Cocktail Courier. A good friend got the Husband and I a subscription to it a bit back and we have loved it! The way it works is you select your favorite spirits, you know like Vodka and Gin and then the Cocktail Courier folks send you a box with everything in it that you need to create a fabulous cocktail at home.

That’s right – you get the recipe, the booze, mixers and garnish all delivered right to your door (3,6 or 12 month subscriptions are available). Each kit makes 4 -12 amazing cocktails. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving! And Christmas isn’t very far away – so it might be a good gift idea for any boozy buddies you have. Or maybe you could just treat yourself! It’s never been easier to be a hip and happening bartender.

Roasty Toasty

• Servings: 1 cocktail
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe by: Cocktail Courier/ Laila Grainawi

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces Vodka
• .75 ounces Marshmallow Syrup
• .50 ounces Manzanilla Sherry
• 3 Drops Cherry Bark Bitters
• Garnish: 3 roasted and toasted mini marshmallows

Directions:

Chill Rocks glass by placing in fridge/freezer or by filling with ice water and setting aside for 5 minutes.

Measure and add all ingredients (except for garnish) to Mixing Beaker

Fill Mixing Beaker with ice, stir contents by placing shaft of Bar spoon or teaspoon between your index and middle finger. Insert spoon into the beaker until spoon touches the bottom.

Stir for 15 seconds.

Remove Rocks Glass from fridge/freezer or if using ice water, empty the glass.

Strain the contents of the mixing beaker using Julep Strainer, into your Rocks Glass. Top with ice.

Create your garnish by sliding three mini marshmallows onto each skewer. Carefully toast your marshmallows using a lighter or kitchen torch. Place atop each drink.

Enjoy!

Roasty Toasty Cocktail brought to you by Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Roasty Toasty:

Torani Toasted Marshmallow Syrup

Cherry Bark Vanilla Bitters

Oxo Streel Double Jigger

Libbey Glass Studded Mixing Glass with Julep Strainer & pourer

Hiware 12 Inches Stainless Steel Mixing Spoon

 

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Happy Halloween ya’ll! I’m sitting here with cocktail in hand and candy at the ready! I thought you might also like to enjoy a lovely cocktail that is just bursting with Fall/Halloween flavors – The Fireball Cider Cocktail.

It is made with Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and hard apple cider with a few slices of apples thrown in cuz you want to make sure you’re eating healthy and all… It is delicious and packs quite a punch! You can serve it over ice or if it is going to be a really chilly Halloween where you are, this cocktail also tastes great when served warm. You know…think mulled wine…’cept better, with a fiery cinnamon punch to delight the taste buds. Have one or two (or so…) of these tipples to keep you warm on your wanders. Happy Hauntings!

• Servings: one cocktail
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: What’s Cooking America

Ingredients:

• Ice Cubes (approximately 4 or 5 ice cubes)
• 2 ounces Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
• 3 ounces hard apple cider
• Apple slices

Directions:

Fill a glass (highball glass or white wine glass) 1/4 full with ice cubes.  You want to chill the drink and not water it down.  Pour in the Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and then top with the apple cider. (If you chose to enjoy this drink warm, heat the cider and just before you are ready to serve, stir in the Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. If you heat the whiskey too long you risk evaporating all of that lovely alcohol…)

Gently stir until mixed.  Garnish with apple slices.

Enjoy & Happy Halloween!

Fireball Cider Cocktails brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

 

Oh ho ho! It’s getting close to my favorite holiday! No not Thanksgiving – not that I’m not thankful or anything…I am. But….I’m talking about Halloween! Whats not to like? You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact all of that fun stuff is encouraged. That is my kind of holiday! These White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels will be a welcome addition to all of your Halloween festivities. Quite tasty and maybe a bit more on the cute than scary side of things, they will prove to be very popular with all of the ghosts and ghouls your encounter on All Hallow’s Eve.

Dogs can have white chocolate right?

Halloween actually has Celtic origins. Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. Oh and I shouldn’t forget mummies. Yup they’ll be about too.

These treats are very easy to make. Just melt your chocolate in a double boiler. Use a spoon to pour chocolate over 3/4 of the pretzel rod. Tap the rod lightly against the side of the bowl to shake off any excess chocolate and then just add the eyes and bandages. I actually made it a bit harder on myself because I was convinced that I didn’t want to eat those candy eyeballs which come oh so conveniently in a pack from the store. No, I decided it would be a good idea to use and upside down white chocolate chip for the white of the mummy’s eyes and then add a mini M&M for the iris bit. Well, that required me to whittle the pointy bit off of 40 chocolate chips so that they would sit flat on the mummy’s face, then stick the M&M to the chip with a bit more melted chocolate and finally to draw the pupils onto the M&M with an edible marker. Yeah….store bought candy eyeballs would have probably worked just fine! Oh well, live and learn. And you can benefit with the knowledge of my travails. Though the M&M eyes are pretty cute, you gotta admit…

• Servings: 18 - 20 Mummy Pretzels
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: Lets Dish Recipes

Ingredients:

• 18-20 pretzel rods
• 12 ounces white melting chocolate (such as Ghirardelli)
• 40 white chocolate chips*
• 40 mini M&Ms*

Directions:

Melt chocolate according to package directions. Dip pretzel rods into white chocolate, or use a spoon to coat, covering about 2/3 of the pretzel. Gently tap pretzel rod on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate.

Place two candy eyeballs on each pretzel rod (if they slip off, let the chocolate set for about a minute first). Place on waxed paper to set. Repeat with remaining pretzels. Or if you want to spend a bit more time fussing over them, place white chocolate chips upside down on the mummies for the whites of their eyes. You will likely need to whittle the pointy bit off of the top of the chip so that it sits flat.

Carefully spoon remaining chocolate into a pastry bag, zip-top bag or squeeze bottle. If using a bag, snip of a small corner. Drizzle white chocolate over the pretzels to form bandages, being careful not to cover the eyes, to resemble a mummy. If using mini M&M’s for eyes, squeeze one drop of chocolate on each M&M and stick it onto the white chocolate chips you placed earlier. Use an edible marker to add the pupil of each eye in the center of the M&Ms. Let white chocolate set completely before serving.

Enjoy!

*You can just use store bought candy eyeballs if you prefer.

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links to Useful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels:

Wilton Candy Eyeballs

Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Wafers

Still looking for additional spooky Halloween treats for your festivities? Take a look at some of my past Halloween offerings.

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

Colcannon (Cál Ceannann)

Ahhhh….Colcannon! Irish Comfort food at its finest! I can’t believe in all my years of St. Patrick’s Day blogging I haven’t shared this recipe. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this dish, it is buttery mashed potatoes whipped up with cabbage, leeks and bacon. OMG right?!!! With that list of outstanding ingredients, you just know it is going to be to die for.

Colcannon or Cál Ceannann in Irish simply means white-headed cabbage. There are many regional variations on this dish, sometimes ham is used rather than bacon, sometimes you’ll find spring onions included rather than leeks. Indeed, I was rather horrified to discover that some peculiar folks will use kale rather than cabbage. This is disturbing to me for a couple of reasons. First off, the dish’s actual name is the word for cabbage, so….

And then of course, I hate kale. Yup…hate it. I know it is good for me. However, I find it bitter and evil. In fact the mere thought of kale inspires this same look I have when I find caraway seeds in my soda bread.

I’m flexible on swapping around some of the other ingredients in my Colcannon, though I do believe that leeks, cabbage and bacon are supreme. But, please… don’t get that nasty old kale anywhere near my Colcannon! Anyhoo…In Ireland, Colcannon is traditionally served on Halloween. It is a bit like Barmbrack that I just recently told you about, in that it was used in Halloween divination rituals. Several charms or trinkets, such as a ring, thimble or coins would be stirred into the Colcannon before it was served. The item you ended up with on your plate would tell your fortune. (i.e.. if you got a ring, you would be married before the year was through.) In the 1800’s, Irish immigrants brought this recipe with them to the United States and Colcannon came to be associated more with St. Patrick’s Day, rather than Halloween. I can definitely say, for me, Colcannon is great any time of the year. Sheer Comfort Food perfection!

• Servings: 6 -8
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup milk (or cream if you are feeling particularly decadent)
• 4 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 large leeks, white and light green portions,
  halved lengthwise, rinsed well and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small head cabbage, about 1 lb., cored
  and coarsely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Put the potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches and generously salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain well in a colander.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and milk and heat until the butter melts and the mixture is hot, 8 to 10 minutes.

Set a potato ricer over the bowl of a stand mixer and press the potatoes through in batches. Mix in the milk mixture in two additions. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water to keep warm.

Heat a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

Pour off all but 3 Tablespoons of the fat from the pot. Return the pot to medium heat, add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and toss until tender-crisp, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly ground nutmeg and the bacon, and season with salt and pepper. Stir the potatoes into the cabbage mixture and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Colcannon brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links to Useful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Colcannon:

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer

Potato Ricer