How to Make Caterpillar Cupcakes for Halloween

There's nothing frightening about caterpillar cupcakes. In fact, they're delicious and downright adorable. Young children will love not only eating them but helping you decorate them. Caterpillar cupcakes are perfect for an all-age Halloween get-together or a classroom party. This recipe makes four 6-cupcake caterpillars.

Things You'll Need

• 2 cups cake flour, sifted
• 2 mixing bowls
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• Hand mixer or stick blender
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• Paper muffin liners
• 2 (12-muffin) muffin tins
• 4 large pieces of cardboard
• Aluminum foil
• 3 cups chocolate frosting
• String licorice
• Small round candies

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Put the sifted cake flour into a large bowl, and add the salt and baking soda.

3. Blend the softened butter and sugar in a separate bowl until they're light and fluffy, using a hand mixer or a stick blender. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, until they're completely mixed with the other ingredients. Blend in the pure vanilla extract.

4. Mix the dry ingredients slowly into the butter mixture, and pour the batter into the paper-lined muffin tins. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.

5. Cover a piece of cardboard with aluminum foil. Frost the cupcakes with chocolate frosting and line 6 of them up in one long curved row on a piece of covered cardboard. The first cupcake will be the head, and the rest will make up the body.

6. Cut the licorice string into short lengths, and poke them into the bottom of the cupcakes to form legs. Poke 2 short pieces of licorice string into the head for antennae, and add 2 small candy eyes to the same cupcake.

7. Make 3 more 6-cupcake caterpillars on each of the remaining pieces of cardboard.

Tips & Warnings

• To make the caterpillars fuzzy, sprinkle a bit of shredded coconut over the tops.