Halloween Recipe: Chocolate Bat Cupcakes {Coles Cake Mix Hack}

Summary: I love Halloween! I also love making cute cupcakes that anyone can recreate at home!  No fondant or super fancy tools needed!  These Chocolate Bat Cupcakes totally fit the bill. I love how cute they turned out, like bat flying across the moon.

I’ve made a few chocolate cakes in my Coles cake mix hack series (see this post for a full list of hacks) and I think this is my fave. It has a rich chocolate flavour that pairs amazingly well with the fluffy vanilla frosting. The frosting is super simple, just a large round tip or you could even just snip the tip off the bag. I used a silicone mould to make the bats. There are plenty of options online but most of the cake supply stores nearby sell them too. If you want to skip that, check out your local cake supply for pre made edible bats. They will probably have some sugar bats. If you make these I’d love to see them, so be sure to tag me!

Ingredients

• 75g milk chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 whipping cream
• 1 Coles 75c butter cake mix
• 1/3cup cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 3 tblsp vegetable oil
• 2 tblsp treacle

For the buttercream frosting 

• 250g butter, softened
• 500g icing sugar
• 2-4 tblsp milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For decorating 

• 1/2 bag black candy melts/dark chocolate
• Silicone bat mould

Instructions 

1. To make the bats: Melt the black candy melts in a double boiler and fill the bat mould. Scrape away any excess and place in the freezer for 5 mins to set. Repeat, reheating candy melts as needed.
2. To make cakes: Preheat the oven to 170C and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper patty pan liners.
3. Add the chocolate and cream in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 sec bursts, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temp while you make the batter.
4. In a large bowl, add the cake mix followed by the cocoa, eggs, buttermilk, oil and treacle. Whisk together until combined, add the melted chocolate and until smooth and glossy.
5. Divide the batter between the 12 patty pans. Bake for 15-18 minutes (mine are always perfect at 17 mins) or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a rack before frosting.
6. To make the buttercream frosting: Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or with electric beaters) and beat until smooth.
7. Add the icing sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix on low to incorporate and then beat on high for at least 5 mins. Buttercream should feel silky and should have increased in volume.
8. To decorate: Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round open tip to pipe a blob, just keep the tip low and squeeze out frosting. Decorate with chocolate bats