These Halloween Spider Web Chocolate Cupcakes are super easy to make and so striking.
My kids love helping to make these Halloween cupcakes.
There’s no need for stand mixers or electric whisks, the cupcakes themselves don’t even require more than one bowl. Simply mix the wet ingredients first, then add in the dry ingredients.
Melty chocolate, smothered over fluffy, light, choco-banana cupcakes.
I could eat A LOT of these things!
I know spider’s webs are a bit cliche for halloween, but who cares. I’m all about the traditional (and easy!).
I use my favourite moist chocolate banana cupcake recipe here (the same one I use for my chocolate banana sundae cupcakes).
What do you need?
***Full recipe with ingredients and detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.***
👩🍳PRO TIP A lot of the moisture comes from the banana – which can also sometimes make cakes quite dense. The secret to getting the fluffy texture in these cupcakes is buttermilk and baking soda. The alkaline baking soda reacts with the acidity of the buttermilk to give a lovely, light texture.
We’re also using oil in these cupcakes – instead of butter – which helps to ensure they’re light and moist.
The only messy part comes with the decorating – but that’s the fun part right?
🕸️ How to make the spiderweb topping
Start by melting some dark chocolate and milk chocolate in 2 separate bowls.
Spoon three tbsp of the melted chocolates into 2 separate piping bags with a very fine tip.
Take one of the cakes and spoon on a tablespoon of melted white chocolate – so it covers the top.
Now pipe three concentric circles on top, using the dark chocolate.
Use a toothpick to drag lines from the centre to the outside of the cake to look like a spider’s web. Six or seven lines will be fine.
Covered in dark or white chocolate, then swirled with a simple spider-web pattern, these cakes are sure to go down a treat on your Halloween table.
You can eat them cold if you’d like the chocolate to set (meaning the cupcakes are portable), or serve them slightly warm with the chocolate still melty and gooey on top.
🎃 More Halloween Recipes
Here are some more of our Haloween inspired recipes.
One thing we almost always have on Haloween is a bowl of Chris’s famous Chilli Con Carne. I think that I look forward to that as much as these cupcakes 🙂
Halloween Spider Web Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 small, ripe bananas peeled
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 240 ml (1 cup) cold water
- 150 ml (2/3 cup minus 2 tsp) vegetable oil
- 350 g (1 3/4 cups) golden caster or granulated sugar
- 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour sifted
- 65 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) cocoa powder sifted
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Topping:
- 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate
- 200 g (7 oz) white chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (fan) and line 2 cupcake trays with cupcake cases – you’ll need 16 cases.
- Place the bananas in a large bowl and mash them up with a fork.3 small, ripe bananas
- Add in the buttermilk, eggs, water, and oil. Mix together with a hand whisk until combined.180 ml (3/4 cup) buttermilk, 3 large eggs, 240 ml (1 cup) cold water, 150 ml (2/3 cup minus 2 tsp) vegetable oil
- Whisk in the sugar, then add in the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Fold together until just combined (be sure to check there are no pockets of flour). The mixture will be wet and runny.350 g (1 3/4 cups) golden caster or granulated sugar, 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 65 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) cocoa powder, 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, ¼ tsp salt
- Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes (until a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean).
- Once cooked, take the cupcakes out of the oven. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the trays and then place onto cooling racks to cool completely.
- When you’re ready to decorate, melt the chocolate in separate bowls – either in a bain marie, or by melting in the microwave in 30-second bursts (stir in between each burst).200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate, 200 g (7 oz) white chocolate
- Spoon three tbsp of the melted dark chocolate into a piping bag with a very fine tip. Spoon three tablespoons of the melted white chocolate into a piping bag, again, with a very fine tip.
- Take one of the cakes and spoon on a tablespoon of melted white chocolate – so it covers the top.
- Now pipe three concentric circles on top, using the dark chocolate. Finish with a dot of the dark chocolate in the middle. Use a toothpick to drag lines from the centre to the outside of the cake to look like a spider’s web. Six or seven lines will be fine.
- Repeat with the remaining cupcakes – alternating between a white chocolate base and a dark chocolate base.
- Serve immediately with the chocolate still warm, or leave to set before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I first made these cupcakes for diys.com – check them out for other great food and craft ideas! This post was first published in Oct 2016. Update Oct 2020 with some extra hints and tips and for housekeeping reasons.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
I like pipe three concentric circles on top, using the dark chocolate, haven’t tried more delicious than this
Thanks for sharing, these look lovely little cupcakes perfect for a party to share 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
I have 3 regular bananas but they are over ripe. Will that effect the cupcakes at all?
Made these for my son’s birthday party, he wanted a spider theme ( he think he is spiderman!). My spiderwebs didn’t look quite as good as yours, but he loved them all the same.
Wow, these cakes look so beautiful and in the last photo so fluffy!