Spooky Surprise Cupcakes

By kmad

So deliciously simple, it's scary! That's the secret behind this recipe for moist chocolate cupcakes with a sweet cream cheese surprise filling. Scare up some smiles from your little monsters with these frightfully fun treats.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 8 drops yellow food coloring
• 4 drops red food coloring
• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tub Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Classic Chocolate Frosting
• 1 tub Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Classic Vanilla Frosting
• chocolate decorating decors

Details

Adapted from duncanhines.com

Preparation

Step 1

Blend together cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar, 2 drops of red food coloring and 4 drops of yellow food coloring until smooth and creamy; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Place paper baking cups in muffin cups.
Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill each muffin cup 1/2 full of batter. Place a dollop of cream cheese mixture in center of each cupcake.
Bake for 23-26 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
To decorate cupcakes -- frost top of each cupcake with chocolate frosting. Tint 1/2 cup of vanilla frosting with 2 drops of red food coloring and 4 drops of yellow food coloring: set aside. Place remaining vanilla frosting into plastic resealable bag. Cut a pinpoint hole in one corner of the bag. Starting in the center, pipe frosting in circles on top of cupcakes, making each circle larger than the previous. Drag a toothpick through the circles in an outward, spoke like motion to create a spider web.
Place orange frosting into plastic resealable bag. For the head of the spider, pipe a small dollop of frosting onto frosting spider web. Pipe a slightly larger dollop beside the small dollop, for the body of the spider. Use chocolate decorating decors for the legs of the spider.