These Halloween Spider Web Chocolate Cupcakes are super easy to make and look so striking. My kids love helping with these cupcakes. You don’t need a stand mixer or electric whisk — everything mixes up in one bowl. Combine the wet ingredients, then stir in the dry ingredients and bake.
Melty chocolate poured over light, fluffy chocolate-banana cupcakes — irresistible.
I know spiderwebs are a bit of a Halloween cliché, but I’m all for classic and easy decorations that look great.
This recipe uses my favourite moist chocolate banana cupcake base — the same batter I use for chocolate banana sundae cupcakes. The banana keeps the cakes soft and the buttermilk with bicarbonate of soda keeps them light.
What do you need?
***Full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions are included in the recipe card below.***
👩🍳PRO TIP — Bananas add moisture but can make cakes dense. Using buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda gives a light crumb because the alkaline soda reacts with the acidity in the buttermilk. Vegetable oil also keeps the cupcakes moist and tender.
The decorating is the only slightly messy stage, and it’s the fun part — perfect for getting kids involved.
🕸️ How to make the spiderweb topping
Start by melting dark chocolate and white chocolate in two separate bowls. You can use a bain-marie or short bursts in the microwave, stirring between intervals until smooth.
Spoon three tablespoons of each melted chocolate into separate piping bags fitted with very fine tips.
Cover the top of a cupcake with about a tablespoon of melted white chocolate. Pipe three concentric circles with the dark chocolate on top of the white coating. Finish with a dot of dark chocolate in the centre.
Use a toothpick to drag lines from the centre to the edge to create the spiderweb effect — six or seven radiating lines works well.
These cupcakes, covered in chocolate and finished with a classic spiderweb swirl, are a simple but impressive addition to any Halloween spread. Serve them warm with the chocolate still gooey, or let the chocolate set for easier transport.
🎃 More Halloween Recipes
Here are some more Halloween-inspired ideas to try alongside these cupcakes.
Seasonal & Holiday
Halloween Spider Web Doughnuts
Cakes & Desserts
Halloween Scream Cheese. Umm… minus the cheese
Seasonal & Holiday
Halloween Eyeball Sub
Cakes & Desserts
Halloween Black Cupcakes With Cherry Filling
On Halloween we almost always make a big bowl of Chris’s chilli con carne — I look forward to that as much as the cupcakes.
Halloween Spider Web Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 small, ripe bananas, peeled
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 240 ml (1 cup) cold water
- 150 ml (2/3 cup minus 2 tsp) vegetable oil
- 350 g (1 3/4 cups) golden caster or granulated sugar
- 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
- 65 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
- 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate
- 200 g (7 oz) white chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (fan) and line two cupcake trays with 16 cupcake cases.
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl with a fork.
- Add the buttermilk, eggs, water and oil. Whisk together with a hand whisk until combined.
- Stir in the sugar, then add the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Fold together until just combined — check there are no pockets of flour. The batter will be wet and runny.
- Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- When ready to decorate, melt the dark and white chocolate in separate bowls using a bain-marie or microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between bursts.
- Spoon three tablespoons of each melted chocolate into piping bags with very fine tips.
- Cover a cupcake top with a tablespoon of melted white chocolate. Pipe three concentric circles of dark chocolate on top and finish with a dot in the centre.
- Drag a toothpick from the centre to the edge to make a web pattern (six or seven lines is enough). Repeat for the remaining cupcakes, alternating base colours if you like.
- Serve immediately while the chocolate is warm, or leave to set before serving.
Notes
Nutritional information is per cupcake and is provided as an approximation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
I first made these cupcakes for diys.com — this post was originally published in October 2016 and updated in October 2020 with extra tips and housekeeping updates.
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