Well the time is nigh for Halloween and it is known for being the time where children and even parents dress up as ghosts, goblins,

witches and all the other scary characters one can think of. Going out on the night of Halloween is almost a rite of passage, once you

get to a certain age. Once you are dressed up, you go from door to door asking the home-owner for a ‘trick or treat’ usually they give

their scary guests some sweets or chocolate but seeing as my life is filled from day to day with cupcakes I was thinking, why don’t I

give my cupcakes away as a ‘treat’. The normal colours associated with Halloween are oranges and browns as these symbolize pumpkins etc..

So I have created my very own version of ‘Scary Halloween Cupcake’ included the incredible mixture of Chocolate and Orange, here it is…

For the Cake

250g Self raising flour

4 eggs

220g Caster sugar

210g Stork margarine

2 tsp Orange extract

2 tsp Baking power

4 tbsp Corn flour

8-9tbsp Semi-Skimmed Milk

100g Milk chocolate chips

For the Chocolate butter cream

450g Icing Sugar

1tsp Orange Extract

50g Cocoa

250g butter at room temperature

1 – 2 tbsp Semi Skimmed Milk

For the Orange Butter cream

500g Icing Sugar

1tsp Orange extract

250g Butter at room temp

1-2 tbsp Semi Skimmed Milk

Orange gel food colouring

Method

Set your oven to 160 Degree Celsius and line a cupcake baking tray with cupcake paper liners. Ensure that all of the ingredients that needs to come out of the fridge has been taken out. Cupcakes do not work as well with cold ingredients. Everything, including the eggs, butter and milk, need to be at room temperature as if they are not, this could affect the structure of the cakes.

Firstly, begin by setting up an electric mixer, if you do not have one, do not worry, you can use a spoon but you must use as much elbow grease as you can. Place the butter into the bowl and mix for 2-5 minutes, until the colour of the butter turns from a yellow to a white creamy consistency. Ensure that you scrape down the sides occasionally to ensure the butter has been evenly mixed with no lumpy bits or yellow bits. Then, add the caster sugar to the butter and mix until the consistency is light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, ensuring that each addition is well mixed before the next. Add the orange extract and mix again, by now this is an extremely liquid mixture so turn your mixer off and get yourself a large wooden spoon, add the baking power and the corn flour into the self raising flour bowl and sift carefully into the liquid mixture 1/3 at a time. This is an extremely important stage as requires only a small amount of mixing, DO NOT OVER MIX. If you mix more than is necessary, this can result in the loss of air within the structure of your cakes and can make them thick and not light and fluffy, which is the way you want them to be. Once the flour has been mixed in, be sure not to bang the bowl or move the mixture too much. Add the milk as necessary to loosen up the mixture as the flour can make it a little bit too thick. Add ¾ of the chocolate chips then, take an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon and place the mixture into each cupcake holder. Make sure the cases are ½ full and no more, as this then creates ample room for the cupcakes to rise. The cupcakes should bake for 18-20 minutes, do not open the over before you reach the 18 minute mark as the rush of cold air into the oven can cause the cupcakes to sink in the middle and therefore not rise properly.

Once they are ready, you should be able to place a skewer into the centre of each cake and remove it without anything on the skewer. At this time, remove the cupcakes and leave to cool in the baking tin for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove the cupcakes and leave them too cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

Whilst the cakes are cooling, this gives you a perfect opportunity to crack on with the butter cream icing. Whisk the butter until it turns a pale colour, normally it goes from yellow to white. This should take 2-5minutes of mixing. Then sift the icing sugar in a bowl and make sure your mixer is on a slow mix. If it is too fast then this can cause an explosion of icing sugar forming a film over your entire kitchen and clothing so make sure you are well covered and that your mixer is on the lowest speed. Pour the icing sugar into the mixer 1/3 at a time and mix well until all of the icing sugar has been mixed into the butter. Ensure that you scrape down the sides, this is to prevent lumps and discoloration of the butter cream. Once you have mixed in all the icing sugar then add in the orange extract. Once mixed in add the milk and a gel colouring. For these cupcakes I like dressing the cupcake brown and orange butter cream as these are the colours which are closely associated with Halloween. Once the butter cream has been coloured, then pipe onto the cupcakes, and finish with chocolate chips sprinkled over the top.

These cupcakes are little bites of heaven which would be perfect for a Halloween party or to give out as ‘treats’ to the ghosts, goblins and witches that come knocking on your door!!

Happy Halloween MWAHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHA!