Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients for chocolate cupcakes:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, measured
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup warm coffee
- 1 tbsp. white distilled vinegar
- ⅓ cup light olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Ingredients for chocolate icing:
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Ingredients for decorating:
- Chocolate sprinkles
- Candy eyeballs
- Black shoestring licorice
Directions:
- FOR CUPCAKES: Preheat oven to 350 F with the rack in the center of the oven. Fill a 12-count muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together dry ingredients. Break up any larger cocoa clumps with your whisk. In a second mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk until well blended.
- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk just until the ingredients come together and no dry streaks remain. The batter will be a little loose and lumpy.
- Use an ice cream scoop to portion batter, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake.
- Cool 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a rack to cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
- FOR ICING: Whisk cocoa powder and melted butter in a large bowl until well combined. Add confectioners’ sugar and milk; whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract.
- TO DECORATE: Dip the top of each iced cupcake into a bowl of chocolate sprinkles for a fuzzy, textured spider body.
- Press two candy eyes onto the front center of each cupcake. Cut the black licorice string into 2-inch pieces and insert four pieces into each side of the cupcake.
