Cupcakes are the perfect choice for any celebratory occasion and can be easily transformed to make scary, yet delicious treats that will complete any Halloween party or gathering.

Witch hat cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cakes:

• 150g self-raising flour
• 150g butter (room temperature)
• 3 medium eggs (room temperature)
• 150g sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 30ml milk (room temperature)

For the buttercream:

• 270g unsalted butter
• 400g icing sugar
• 1tsp good quality vanilla extract
• 30ml milk
• Tangerine food colour

For the toppers:

• 250g black fondant
• 100g white fondant
• Gum tragacanth (optional)
• Black, yellow, tangerine and violet food color
  

  Witch hat cupcakes

Equipment:

• 12 purple cases
• Sharp knife
• 1cm and 7mm square cutters (optional)
• Small paint brush
• Wilton 2A nozzle and piping bag (optional)
• Large drying sponge or greaseproof paper

Method:

For the toppers:

1. You will need to make these toppers 2 days before you actually need them in order for them to set.
2. The day before you want to make these toppers. Add your gum tragacanth to the black fondant and knead for 5 min, adding this can sometimes dull the black color so add a touch of black food color to bring it back again. Wrap this in cling film and pop in an airtight container overnight. This is an optional step but makes the fondant easier to work with.
3. Color 50g fondant purple and 50g yellow.
4. Rolling the black fondant out to 3mm thick and cut 12 triangles to fit the size of your cupcakes. After cutting the triangle bend the tops slightly to give a ‘floppy’ look. Pop the triangles on a large drying sponge or a piece of greaseproof to dry while you make the straps.
5. Roll out the purple fondant to 2mm thick and with a sharp knife cut 4mm thick straps and place ¾ of the way up the hats. Trim to size and stick with a brush of water
6. For the buckles roll out the yellow fondant and with a sharp knife cut 12 squares using the square cutters if you have them. With a smaller square cutter, cut the centre from the larger squares. Alternatively you can cut a small square from the left over purple fondant and stick it in the centre. Stick the buckles with a brush of water in the centre of the purple straps.
7. Leave to dry for a couple of days in a breathable box – cake or shoe boxes work well. This will make sure the hats don’t droop onto the cakes.

For the cakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Line the baking tray with 12 cases
2. Add all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until smooth, don’t overbeat or the batter will be greasy.
3. Divide the batter between the 12 cases and bake for 20-25. Remove and cool in the trays for 10 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack
4. To make the buttercream: Pop all the ingredients onto a large bowl and beat on a low speed for about 7 min until smooth.
5. Once cooled completely, pipe or spread a ball of buttercream into the centre of the cake. If using a piping bag, hold the nozzle in the centre of the cakes and apply pressure the bag, while keeping the nozzle in the centre. If you press the tip into the buttercream as you apply pressure you’ll get a perfect ball of buttercream. Stop applying pressure when the buttercream reaches close to the cake cases.
6. Top the buttercream with a witch hat topper.