Spider Web Cupcakes

• Prep45 min
• Cook20 min
• Total2 h 5 min
• Serves12

Ingredients

Vanilla cupcakes

• 115 g unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup, 1 stick)
• 150 g sugar (3/4 cup)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 190 g all-purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 120 g whole milk, at room temperature (1/2 cup)

White buttercream

• 150 g unsalted butter, softened (2/3 cup)
• 280 g powdered sugar (2 1/3 cups)
• 15 g whole milk (1 tbsp)
• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

To decorate

• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• Black gel food coloring
• 12 round chocolate candies, such as chocolate-covered malted milk balls or small chocolate truffles
• 24 small candy eyes
• 30 g semisweet chocolate chips (3 tbsp)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 12-cup muffin pan with black paper liners.
2. Place the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl and mix 1 min/speed 4. Scrape down the sides, add the eggs and vanilla and mix 30 sec/speed 4. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and milk and mix 10 sec/speed 4, scrape down and mix 5 sec/speed 4, just until smooth.
3. Divide the batter among the liners, about 2/3 full, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour.
4. Wash and dry the mixing bowl. Insert the butterfly whisk, add the butter and whip 2 min/speed 3.5, until pale. Add the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt, put the measuring cup in place and whip 1 min/speed 3, then whip 2 min/speed 3.5, scraping down halfway, until fluffy and white.
5. Take out 50 g (3 tbsp) of buttercream into a small bowl and stir in the cocoa and black gel color until very dark. Spread the white buttercream over each cupcake with an offset spatula or butter knife, making a smooth, flat top.
6. Spoon the black buttercream into a small piping bag with a 2 mm round tip, or a zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped. Pipe 4 straight lines across each cupcake through the center, like cutting a pizza into 8 slices. Then join the lines with small curved scallops in 3 rings, from the center out.
7. Melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring each time, and spoon into a small zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped. Set a chocolate candy on each web, a little off-center, and pipe 4 bent legs on each side, onto the frosting.
8. Stick 2 candy eyes on the front of each spider with a dot of melted chocolate. Let the chocolate set for 10 minutes.
9. Serve, or keep the cupcakes in a closed container in the refrigerator and take them out 20 minutes before serving.

Tips

• For the whitest frosting, use clear vanilla and whip the butter until pale before adding the sugar. A tiny drop of white gel color helps too.
• Practice a web on a plate first. If a line goes wrong on a cupcake, lift it off with a toothpick and pipe it again.
• No black liners? Bake in regular liners and slip the baked cupcakes into black ones before decorating.
• Florida heat softens buttercream fast. Decorated cupcakes keep 3 days in the refrigerator in a closed container.