Double Dark Chocolate Cupcakes!

Happy Halloween! I love Halloween for all the fun costumes, movies, and especially the treats! These cupcakes were super fun to make and would look great on a table for a party or for a cozy night in. While the decorations are optional, I think they added a festive touch. I hope these chocolate cupcakes sweeten your Halloween! And of course given the option between trick or treat, I hope you always pick treat ;)

What You Will Need:

For the cakes:

(Yield: 18 cupcakes)

- 2 1/4 cups flour

- 2 cups sugar

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 2 teaspoons baking soda

- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup oil ( I actually forgot this bit, but I would recommend it)

- 2 cups hot water

- 2 eggs

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated

3. Add in the wet ingredients. You should have a thin batter

4. Pour or scoop the mixture into the tins with cupcake liners. I like to fill them up about halfway

5. Bake for about 20 minutes. (This will depend on your oven)

6. Allow them to cool before decorating!

Look how spooky they look in the spider web liners! Also they come out of the oven looking almost black, which is perfect for halloween.

On to the Buttercream!

For the frosting:

- 1/2 cup of butter, softened

- 2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar

- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1/3 cup milk

- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients until fluffy! (How simple is that?)

You got to give it a taste. Let me tell you, shortly after this picture I ate about 6 spoonfuls, SO GOOD!

Now onto the fun part, decorating! I used a packaged kit that came with cupcake liners, the cool spider web liners and the festive toothpicks. You can find kits like this almost anywhere, but I picked mine up from Home Goods. I also added fall colored sprinkles, from Home Goods too. These added touches make the cupcakes super fun for the this time of year, but you can use the recipe anytime!

Happy Halloween!

Vividly Yours,

Taylor