These Mocha Spider Donut Cupcakes have a mocha cupcake base topped with chocolate mocha frosting topped with a spider donut.
It’s that time of year again, Halloween Treats Week!
Put on once again by Angie over at Big Bear’s Wife.
To start things off I made these Mocha Spider Donut Cupcakes.
I like to make something with a spider theme each #HalloweenTreatsWeek.
I personally can’t stand spiders and they creep me out.
So I kind of consider it therapy in that I’m facing my fears. Sort of.
I’m facing my fears by making cute spiders.
And then putting them on cupcakes.
These are a chocolatey cupcakes.
A yummy chocolate cupcake base similar to a devil’s food cake.
While I went with making these mocha…you know coffee and donuts, you can feel free to substitute water in place of coffee in the cupcake batter.
And you can omit it from the frosting.
I went with chocolate covered Pocky for my legs.
I know a lot of people who use pretzel sticks when making edible spiders.
Even better you can dip your pretzel sticks in chocolate and use those.
You could pipe out chocolate into legs.
I just bought my candy eyes.
There are people who make their own. I am not that person. 😀
For an extra touch I used these Spider Web Cupcake Liners.
I think it adds a little something. You can certainly skip them. But if you are going to go to the trouble of making all those donut spiders, you really should go for the cupcake liners.
P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook.
Want More Halloween Themed Recipes?
Chocolate Truffle Pumpkin Spider Cake
Halloween Candy Kitchen Sink Brownies
Chocolate Truffle Spider Cheesecake Bites
Halloween Candy Cracker Toffee
Chocolate Spider Cheesecake Cheesecall
Mocha Spider Donut Cupcakes
Ingredients
- For the Mocha Chocolate Cupcakes:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 2 heaping TBSP cocoa powder
- 2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¾ cup boiling coffee (you can use water if you don't want the coffee)
- For the Mocha Buttercream:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 TBSP instant coffee (optional)
- For the Spider Donuts:
- 16-20 (depends on how filled the cupcakes are) chocolate mini donuts
- 32-40 candy eyeballs
- 128-160 chocolate covered Pocky
Instructions
- For the Mocha Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line cupcake pans and set aside.
- Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often , until well blended, about 3 minutes.
- Add the cocoa powder. Mix until combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, on at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing well after each addition.
- Continue to beat for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer, add the melted chocolate, and mix well.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add about ½ the ingredients followed by about ½ of the sour cream and beat well.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients followed by the remaining sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition. Add the boiling coffee and beat until smooth.
- Scoop (ice cream scoop works best) batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes and remove from pan. Let cupcakes cool completely.
- For the Mocha Buttercream Frosting:
- In electric mixer cream butter until light and fluffy, about three minutes.
- Add sugar, one cup at a time until completely combined
- Stir in cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and instant coffee. Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- Add heavy cream, 1 Tbsp at a time and beating on medium-high speed after each addition for about 15 seconds until desired icing consistency is reached (the less heavy you use, the stiffer the frosting will be).
- Pipe icing on completely cooled cupcakes.
- For the Spider Donuts:
- Cut the pocky so that you are using only the chocolate covered parts. Then decide how long you want the legs to be. I went smaller and so I had to cut them more.
- Stick 4 pocky legs on each side of the chocolate mini donut.
- Using the buttercream frosting add the eyes.
- Place on top of the frosted cupcake and push slightly on the spider to get it to stick to the frosting.
Welcome to 2024’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!
If you’re new here, Welcome! If you’re a returning haunt, welcome back!
#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife . This spooky event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some frightfully fun Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween loving bloggers!
For this year’s 7th annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 12 hauntingly talented bloggers who are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! You can follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media to collect all of these frightful recipes to use at your own Halloween parties and events!
- BeetleJuice Jell-O Poke Cake from BigBearsWife
- Bloodshot Eyeball Cookies from Semi-Homemade Recipes
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Halloween Candy Corn Pizza from Savory Moments
- Black Garlic Skull Deviled Eggs from The Spiffy Cookie
- Sandworm Stuffed Bread from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Mummy Garlic Bread from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Spiced Skull Cakelets from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Mocha Spider Donut Cupcakes from Sweet ReciPEAs
- Halloween Caprese Crostini from Art of Natural Living
- Halloween Blackberry Margarita Mocktail from Jen Around the World
- Halloween Ghost Toast from For the Love of Food
- Pumpkin Vegetable Tray from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Wendy Klik says
Cupcakes, Donuts and Adorable. What’s not to love about this dessert?
Peabody says
It is a good combo. 🙂