Chocolate Orange Witches Hat Cupcakes

Here’s some fabulous Chocolate Orange Witches Hat Cupcakes.  Great to make with your little monsters during half term (the adults will love them too)! A great table centrepiece for your Halloween celebrations!


For the cupcakes

For orange buttercream

  • 125g/4½oz unsalted butter, softened
  • 250g/9oz icing sugar
  • 1tsp orange essence flavouring

A few drops of Wilton orange edible gel food colouring (or supermarkets own)

Preparation method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
  2. Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until combined.
  3. Whisk the melted chocolate, egg and milk together in a jug.
  4. Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, mix the orange juice and granulated sugar together in a bowl. Carefully pour the orange juice mixture over the warm cakes and set aside to cool completely.
  7. For the orange buttercream, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Carefully stir in the icing sugar and continue to beat for five minutes. Add the orange essence flavouring, and colouring.  Decant into a piping bag with a Wilton 1M nozzle, and with even pressure pipe your buttercream swirl.

Technique: How to make the witches hats

Take some black sugar paste, about the size of a walnut, and mould into a cone shape.  Use your index finger and thumb to roll the end of the witches hat into a thinner point.  Press down on the bottom on the cone to make the brim of the hat.  Roll out some orange sugar paste, and with a shap knife cut a strip for the ribbon around the hat. Decorate with a square sugarpaste buckle or you could use sugar craft cutters to cut out cat or bat shapes.