Chocolate Mint Ghost Cupcakes
Yields: 12 cupcakes
Keep everyone happy this Halloween with these cute Minty Chocolate Halloween Cupcakes. Rich and decadent with a little scary twist (but not too scary). We’ve left the frosting colour free but feel free to add some natural green food colouring if you wish. These cupcakes are dairy, egg and nut free.
1 cup plant-based milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground flax
2 tbsp water
½ cup sunflower oil
¾ cup cane sugar
2 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cup Anita’s Organic All-Purpose White Spelt Flour
½ cup cocoa powder
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Frosting & Decorations
1 cup dairy free butter substitute (or ½ dairy free butter substitute + ½ cup non-dairy shortening
500g icing sugar, sifted
1 to 2 tsp mint extract
2 to 4 tbsp non-dairy milk (use sparingly)
½ cup chocolate chips (to make the Ghost Faces and Spider Webs)
Pre-heat the oven to 350F and line a muffin tray with 12 cupcake cases.
In a large bowl, mix together the milk and vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes to curdle.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flax & water. Set aside.
Add the oil, sugar and extracts to the milk mixture, along with the flax and water. Whisk everything together.
In a medium sized bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet, a little at a time, until the dry mix is evenly incorporated. Do not over mix.
Scoop ¼ cup of the batter into each cupcake case. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 to 22 minutes. Insert a wooden toothpick into the middle of the cupcakes and if it comes out clean, they are ready.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tray and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool fully.
Ghost Faces & Spider WebsDraw free hand the ghost faces onto a piece of paper. They are simply 2 x ovals approximately ½ inch long and 1 x oval ¾ inch long. Also, draw a spider web about 4 inches by 4 inches. If drawing is not your thing, you can find images online which can be used instead. Once you are happy with your drawing cut a 10 x 16-inch piece of parchment paper. Trace the images of the ghosts faces and spiderwebs onto the parchment. Trace and repeat until you have filled the parchment with as many faces and webs as you want. NOTE: Make a few more than you need to allow for breakages. Lay the parchment on to a cookie sheet and tape down some of the edges to stop the parchment moving.
Melt the chocolate chips and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Fill a piping bag, with a small round piping nozzle attached, with the melted chocolate. Pipe the chocolate gently and slowly following the lines and shapes on the parchment. Place the tray into the fridge until fully set and leave there until needed.
FrostingIn the bowl of a stand mixer, using the balloon whisk attachment, beat the dairy free butter substitute (and shortening if using) together until soft and fluffy.
Reduce the speed and add the sifted icing sugar a little at a time (about ½ cup), stop the mixer and scrape down the sides when necessary. Once you have added about ½ of the icing sugar add the mint extract.
Continue adding the icing sugar and if the mixture is getting too dry add a little of the non-dairy milk. Be careful not to add too much milk as it's hard to rescue frosting that is too wet.
Once all the icing sugar has been added beat for 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy (7 minutes if you have a butter & shortening mix). **All ‘butter’ frosting tends to be a little softer and more delicate than a ‘butter & shortening’ mix so do not over whisk and go easy with milk.
To Assemble the CupcakesFor Ghosts: Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes in a ghost type shape. Use clean tweezers to remove the eyes and mouth from the parchment and place them on the frosting to create a face.
For Spider Webs: Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and then gently place the spider webs directly on top or on an angle if preferred.