Mini Chocolate Blackout Cakes

Decadent little nibbles of chocolate cake covered in rich chocolate glaze. This mini blackout chocolate cupcake recipe is fun for all occasions, especially Halloween!

Black Glass Dishes from Villeroy & Boch.

Who loves Halloween?

ME! Me me me me me me me me meeeeee!

The ghastly decorations, elaborate costumes, and inevitable sugar rush always spurs on some fun family memories.

I’ve got two spook-tacular surprises to share with you today, that are sure to make this Halloween frightfully fabulous!

One: Mini Blackout Cakes.  This moist and devilishly dark chocolate cupcake recipe will have your little goblins begging for more.

Two: Spooky Halloween Portraits, to frame as Halloween decorations or use on cards and invitations.

The other night I couldn’t sleep.

I sat down to piddle-around on my computer at 3 am, and discovered Pic Monkey’s new Halloween photo editing settings. Pic Monkey is a program I use occasionally for quick edits and simple photo collages. It’s free, with the option of paid upgrades.

I opted to spend the extra few bucks this month to play with the Halloween editing settings.

…because I’m a nerd and that’s what we do when we can’t sleep.

Creepy, right?

The next day (after a lot of coffee) I showed the kids and, of course, they had to monster-fy themselves as well. I asked them to make their scariest face for a quick shot, then sat them down to edit their photos.

Believe it or not, they edited these photos completely on their own. It’s that easy.

This was a fun-find that I know we’ll use again and again.

Back to the chocolate cake…

I’ve made this mini chocolate cupcake recipe dozens of times, for birthday parties, showers, pretty much any occasion, changing only the color of candy melts I use to decorate the tops.

Each little chocolate cake is soft and tender with a deep chocolatey flavor; and just the right size to pop in your mouth one at a time.

Using dark chocolate cocoa powder really takes this chocolate cake recipe to another level for Halloween.

They are so dark.

Blackout dark.

With ever-so-slightly bitter undertones from the addition of coffee.

This is such a great treat to pile on your Halloween table.

Not only are they a chocolate-lovers dream, they are small enough to give your kids, even after a pillowcase full of candy.

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Mini Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 37 minutes

Decadent little nibbles of chocolate cake covered in rich chocolate glaze.

Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

For the Chocolate Cake:

• 2/3 cup all-purpose Gold Medal Flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Glaze:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup colored candy melts any color, or smaller portions of multiple colors

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray mini muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients for the cakes. Then whisk in the water and oil until smooth. Spoon the batter into 24 muffins tins, filling only 2/3 full.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 3-5 minutes in the pans, then flip them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• While the cakes are cooling, prepare the glaze. Place the butter, water, and cocoa powder in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the mixture for 1-2 minutes until warm, them whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Allow the glaze to cool a little before dipping. Carefully dip the top of each mini cake into the glaze, then place back on the wire rack to set. If the cakes are so tender they start to crumble when you dip them, hold them sideways and spoon the glaze over the tops.
• Once the glaze has hardened, place the candy melts in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted, usually 60-90 seconds total. Spoon the melted candy melts into a piping bag with a small tip, or a squirt bottle (or a plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe lines over the top of each mini cake. Allow the candy melt lines to harden before moving. Store in an air-tight container until ready to serve.

Notes

For "traditional" blackout cakes, skip the candy melts and crumble two of the mini cakes into small crumbs. After dipping each cake in glaze, sprinkle cake crumbles over the top and allow to harden.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake, Calories: 90kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 41mg, Potassium: 35mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 30IU, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Course: Cupcakes

Cuisine: American

Author: Sommer Collier

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