Bat Cupcakes
Bat cupcakes are easy to make with a boxed cake mix as a base. The edible bat toppers make them a spooky addition to your Halloween festivities!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup hot water or heated heavy cream
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 ounces semi-sweet baking bar melted and cooled
Decorations
- 1 package regular Oreos you will not need the full package, but it’s best to have extras in case of breakage
- 1 package mini Oreo cookies
- 20 pairs candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line standard-size muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the chocolate cake ingredients: cake mix, butter, eggs, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 1 minute and then on medium-high speed for two additional minutes.
- Fill the cupcake liners about halfway full.
- Bake for 15 minutes and then cool completely.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Chop the chocolate baking bar into small pieces. Use a double boiler or 30-second increments in the microwave to melt the chocolate. Stir until fully melted and set it aside to cool. The chocolate should not cool long enough to re-harden, just cool down so that it is not hot to the touch.
- Use a whisk to stir together the cocoa powder and hot water (or hot cream) until smooth and shiny.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the softened butter, cooled chocolate bar, cocoa powder mixture, and powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined and fluffy.
- Fill a piping bag with the prepared frosting and fit it with piping tip #1M (or an open star piping tip). Pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cupcakes.
- To make a bat topper, cut an Oreo cookie in half - a swift, strong chop with a sharp knife works best for a clean cut.
- Separate the cookie from the cream filling.
- Place two Oreo cookie halves side by side to form the “wings” of the bat.
- Twist one half from a mini Oreo. Using the half that still has the cream filling on it, press the mini Oreo over the center point where the “bat wings” meet. The cream filling will serve as the glue to hold the bat together.
- Use a toothpick or small piping tip to dab two dots of frosting on the mini Oreo “bat face.”
- Place two candy eyes on the dots of frosting.
- Carefully place each assembled bat onto the top of each cupcake.
Notes
It is best to have an abundance of Oreo cookies as they sometimes break when cutting them into two pieces.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your cupcakes as the suggested baking time approaches.
A little crumbling adds character to the bat wings, so don’t worry too much about having perfect halves.