Description
Celebrate Halloween with these festive Pumpkin Spice Pudding Halloween Cupcakes topped with cute moon-shaped candy decorations. Moist and flavorful cupcakes infused with autumn spices and apple cider are coated in rich black candy melts and colorful sprinkles, perfect for a seasonal treat or party dessert.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Cupcakes
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 (3.4 ounce) pumpkin spice pudding mix
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup apple cider
Decorations
- Black candy melts (amount as needed for dipping)
- Yellow candy melts (amount as needed for moon decoration)
- Yellow sugar sprinkles
- Colored sugar sprinkles
- Small lollipop sticks or cupcake picks
- Parchment paper
- Biscuit cutter or circular cookie cutter
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare cupcake pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 24 cupcake wells with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and pumpkin spice pudding mix until combined evenly.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the vegetable oil, eggs, and apple cider to the dry ingredients. Using a mixer on medium speed, blend the ingredients for about 2 minutes or until the batter is smooth and creamy.
- Fill cupcake liners and bake: Spoon the batter into cupcake liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Once done, remove from the oven and allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Prepare moon shapes: Measure your chosen biscuit cutter or circular cutter to size your moon candies. Trace circles onto the backside of a piece of parchment paper and tape the paper to a cookie sheet.
- Melt yellow candy melts and form moons: Melt the yellow candy melts thoroughly. Transfer some melted candy into a squeeze bottle or a zip-top bag with a small corner cut off. Pipe around the traced circles on the parchment paper first to outline, then fill in each circle with candy. For texture and coverage, sprinkle yellow sugar sprinkles over the freshly piped candy. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Attach lollipop sticks to moons: After the moons harden, gently shake off excess sugar sprinkles. Flip the moons over on the parchment paper. Dip small lollipop sticks into some melted yellow candy and lay them centered on the back side of each moon. Return the cookie sheet to the freezer for another 10 minutes to set.
- Dip cupcakes and assemble: Melt black candy melts completely. Dip the cooled cupcakes tops into the melted black candy, then immediately dip or sprinkle the tops with colored sugar sprinkles. While the candy coating is still soft, press a moon decoration onto each cupcake and add a cat-shaped or themed cupcake pick if desired. This must be done quickly to prevent candy from hardening before assembly.
Notes
- It is crucial to add the moon decorations immediately after dipping cupcakes in melted candy, while the coating is still soft, or the candy will harden and prevent proper adhesion.
- Use a biscuit cutter or similar round cutter to create consistent moon shapes for decoration.
- To make piping easier, use a squeeze bottle or a plastic bag with a corner snipped off for melted candy application.
- Freezing the candy moon pieces ensures they harden quickly and maintain their shape for decorating.
- If you don’t have apple cider, you can substitute with pumpkin juice or a lighter apple juice, but cider adds a subtle depth of flavor.
- Be careful not to overbake the cupcakes to keep them moist and tender.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 175mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
