SCARY MUFFIN RECIPES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: heat the oven to 200°C (180° fan) 400°F gas 6. Place paper cases in a 12 hole muffin tin.
• Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar.
• Whisk together the eggs and oil in a separate bowl until frothy, then slowly whisk in the milk.
• Stir into the dry ingredients until just blended. The mixture will be slightly lumpy. Gently stir in the chocolate.
• Spoon into the paper cases and bake for 20 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the buttercream: beat the butter until creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and food colouring.
• Spoon into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe on top of the cakes, to cover the tops.
• Roll some of the white marzipan into 24 small balls for the 'eyes' and place on top of the buttercream. Attach the chocolate chips to the eyes with a dab of buttercream.
• Cut tiny triangles from the remaining marzipan for the 'teeth'.
• Roll out the black sugarpaste thinly on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Cut out 12 stars using a cutter or card template. Place on the buttercream, as in the photo.
• Divide the red sugarpaste into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a flattened oval for the tongues.
• Attach to the sugarpaste stars with a dab of water.
• Place the white triangles on the stars for the teeth, attaching with a dab of water.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners, preferable dark-colored or Halloween-themed ones.
• Combine cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer on low speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed until batter is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 21 minutes. Remove from oven and cool tins on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before decorating, about 1 hour.
• Frost each cupcake with a thin layer of white vanilla frosting and refrigerate for 30 minutes to make decorating easier.
• Remove cupcakes from fridge and apply a second layer of white frosting. Fill a piping bag outfitted with a small round tip with chocolate frosting and draw a skull face on the cupcakes: pipe large ovals for the eyes, two dots for the nostrils, and a large "stitched" smile for the mouth.