Halloween Cupcakes for the Not-So-Skilled Baker

When it comes to the actual cupcakes, you can start with ready-made cupcakes or make your own from a mix or from scratch. We opted for chocolate cupcakes, since the dark color was a good canvas for our Halloween characters...and because chocolate is the best cupcake flavor, hands down. Megan was adventurous and made her own cupcakes from scratch (on the right), while I went with the quick route and used a store-bought mix (on the left).

What I loved about the spider cupcakes is that you can really decorate them any way you want, experimenting with color and candy types. The basic ingredients you'll need are: frosting (I used store-bought chocolate); rope licorice or pretzels for legs; sprinkles or sanding sugar for texture (the more colors, the better); M&Ms, gum drops or other circular candy for eyes.

The first step in decorating the spiders (after you've frosted the cupcakes) is making legs. I used black licorice, but you could also use small pretzel sticks. Cut your legs into 2-inch strips and then stick them into the cupcake. Just don't stick the legs too far into the cupcake as this could cause the surface to rupture.

Add sprinkles or sanding sugar to the top of your spider cupcakes for a bit of furry texture. I like the brown sprinkles because they blend with the chocolate frosting, but you could definitely experiment with any color. It's not important to fully saturate the surface with the sprinkles; just get enough on there for effect. As for the eyes, a touch of frosting on the back of your candy will bind it to the cupcake. I'm a fan of the contrast of yellow eyes against the dark cupcake.

For some reason, I thought that adding pupils (made from melted chocolate chips) to the spiders' eyes made them less creepy. After decorating a few of the standard black and brown spiders, I decided to try out some variations using red licorice and colorful sanding sugar. I even added fangs and extra eyes to one of the spiders!

The mummy cupcakes were very simple to make with the right ingredients and supplies. I used: chocolate frosting, white fondant, small red candies for eyes, a rolling pin and a bit of powdered sugar (for the fondant), and a pizza slicer.

If the white fondant is not pre-flattened, use a rolling pin to flatten it out. To avoid fondant sticking to the rolling pin, sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar on it. Once you have a flat sheet of fondant, use a pizza slicer to cut narrow strips. Lay the strips onto a lightly-frosted cupcake to create bandages. For a more realistic effect, overlap parts of the strips.

Finish up your mummies by adding eyes. I prefer red candy since it makes the mummies look a little more creepy, but you could use anything. Just make sure you dot a bit of frosting to the back for adhesive.

To make these spooky spiderweb toppers, pour white chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about thirty seconds then stir with a spoon. If the chocolate chips aren't melted enough to create a smooth, thick liquid, microwave for an additional twenty seconds and stir.

Use a spoon to pour the melted chocolate into a squeezable cupcake decorating tool. If you don't happen to have fancy cupcake decorating tools on hand, snip off the corner of a plastic freezer bag to create a piping sleeve. Before you start spinning your webs, line a cookie tray with wax or parchment paper. Slide the template between the tray and the paper--you'll be able to see the template through the transparent paper.

After your webs have chilled in the freezer for about ten minutes, use a spatula to remove the webs from the parchment paper to place them on top of your frosted cupcakes.

I love Harry Potter, so cauldron cupcakes were a MUST! Megan and I decided to try two different methods for cauldron cupcakes: one with a chocolate mousse filling and one with pudding filling. For the pudding cupcakes, you'll need: vanilla pudding; neon green food coloring; chocolate frosting; green sprinkles or sanding sugar; black licorice for handles; and pretzel sticks for stirrers.

Unwrap your cupcakes and turn them upside-down. Use a spoon or a metal cone-shaped device (like an icing decorator tip) to hollow out the center of your cupcakes. Be careful not to go too deep or you might break through the bottom of the cauldron. Melt the chocolate frosting in a microwave-safe bowl for about 20 seconds and dip the hollowed-out cauldrons into the frosting. You can use a spoon or spatula to place them on a cookie sheet. For a less messy alternative, just spread unmelted frosting along the sides of the cupcakes.

Dump all of your vanilla pudding into a bowl and add neon green food coloring. Be generous with the drops; the more you add, the brighter the pudding will be! I added quite a few drops to maximize the "ooey gooey" filling effect. Spoon the pudding into the center of the cupcakes, making sure to fill all the way to the bottom. Let the pudding spill over the tops of the cupcakes.

Finish up your pudding cauldrons by adding some green sprinkles or sanding sugar to the top of the pudding. The green in the sugar will run to create texture. To make the cauldron handles, snip black licorice ropes into small pieces and stick each end into the pudding. Add a pretzel stick for a stirrer and your pudding cauldrons are complete!

What really makes these cauldrons delicious and, not to mention, adorable are the hardened chocolate bottoms.

“Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble!” The potion bubbling in these cauldrons is chocolate mousse, which is actually surprisingly easy to make. A little whipped cream, sugar and lots of cocoa powder. Hidden under a thick layer of chocolate buttercream, it's a delicious surprise when you take a bite!

I dipped the cooled cupcakes in melted milk chocolate and placed them on a few chocolate chips to make cauldron feet. Aren't they adorable?

These cute cauldrons are fairly time consuming, especially for a novice baker like myself, but despite the extra steps they’re really fun to make!