Hocus Pocus Halloween Cupcakes

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Hocus Pocus Halloween Cupcakes

Decadent homemade chocolate cupcakes piled high with brightly colored buttercream frosting, these Hocus Pocus Halloween Cupcakes are a fun and easy Halloween cupcake idea! Perfect for Hocus Pocus viewing parties, Disney-themed parties, or Halloween in general!

Prep Time25

Cook Time20

Assembly Time15

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Disney desserts, Halloween cupcake ideas, Halloween decorated cupcakes, halloween food

Servings: cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon espresso powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the Vanilla Buttercream

2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream
yellow, orange, and purple food coloring
silver edible glitter

Instructions

Make the Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two cupcake cake pans with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, cocoa powder, and espresso powder, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
To the cooled cocoa mixture, whisk in the milk, eggs, and oil. Then stir in the flour mixture just until it starts to become smooth.
Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 way full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed down on.
Transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.

Make the Buttercream

In the bowl of your mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 5 minutes until the butter has become light and fluffy.
Turn the speed down to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add in 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Turn the mixer back up to medium speed and mix for an additional 3 minutes.
(Add in more heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, only if necessary. Frosting should be light and fluffy, but hold its shape and a little stiff so it does not fall when piping.)
Divide the buttercream into three separate bowls. Add enough food coloring to each bowl to get a vibrant color, so you end up with one bowl of orange, one bowl of yellow, and one bowl of purple.

Assemble the Cupcakes

Place each buttercream into a piping bag with a large star piping tip.
On one-third of the cupcakes, pipe a swirl of the yellow buttercream by placing the piping tip in the middle of the cupcake and adding pressure to the bag. Swirl the bag around the cupcake, slowly making your way to the top.
Pipe a swirl of orange buttercream on another third of the cupcakes, then pipe two mini swirls on the sides of the top of the buttercream.
On the last third of the cupcakes, start by piping out a swirl of purple buttercream but keep piping at an angle while allowing the buttercream to begin to tip over.
Sprinkle the cupcakes with edible glitter.
NOTE: For helpful tips and visual help, refer back to the full article.

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