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These are no ordinary chocolate cupcakes! These Spicy Little Devil’s Food Cupcakesturn up the heat with a cinnamon & cayenne ganache filling, and are topped with devilish decor perfect for any Halloween party!
This post is sponsored by Dixie Crystals in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.
I’m taking ya’ll back to my roots this Halloween.
Cuuuuuuupcaaaaaaakeeessssss……oooOOOooooOOOooooohhh. (Insert spooky noises here.)
Get a load of these cute, devilish little guys! They’re such dapper treats, aren’t they? So enticing with their adorable little red horns and tiny tails.
(Food costumes. Get on board, folks.)
JUST TAKE ME TO THE DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES ALREADY!
If you’d rather skip my (pretty darn helpful) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this deliciously easy Halloween cupcake recipe, just scroll right on down to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card!
My Nana didn’t need a reason to bake. Like, ever.
It was very uncommon for there not to be something sweet in the house to snack on.
Often, it was something simple: flavored gelatin, pudding, or a simple sheet cake. Just a bit to end a meal, or enjoy during somelate-night TV.
She was a big chocoholic, also, just like me.
When the holidays rolled around, however, she tended to goall out. Which is probably why I do the same, going through more bags of Dixie Crystals in a month than I go through during the entire rest of the year.
I’m the worst at Christmas – there are so many sweets coming out of my kitchen in the weeks leading up to Santa’s big day, you’d think I was feeding a small elf army.
For Halloween, I usually bake too much.
Most of the parties Mr. Crumby and I attend are potluck, and since my signature dish at any shindig is cupcakes of some kind – that’s usually what I end up making.
More often than not, I end up bringing at least 1/3 of them home.
I either need more friends, or smaller recipes.
These handsome little devilcakes might just disappear totally, though. Just in case the name didn’t give away the secret ingredients of these cupcakes, let me elaborate.
Have you ever tried Mexican hot chocolate?
If you have, you’ll know that it’s got just a touch of heat to it, supplied by the cinnamon and pepper hidden inside the chocolate itself.
These cupcakes are a moist & luscious dark chocolate devil’s food, topped with a deceptively decadent chocolate fudge– with a surprising spicy cayenne-chocolate ganache filling.
This isn’t like eating jalapenos or anything, so don’t be afraid if you’re not big into heat.
It adds a really nice warmth as you eat the cupcake – a sensation you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a cupcake, but once you experience it, you might want a repeat performance.
Hopefully, if you’re reading this, you’re a big chocolate fan – because these tasty little guys are a powerhouse of chocolate. From the cake to the ganache to the icing, there’s no shortage of chocolate layers waiting to calm your cravings.
Leave the Halloween candy for the kids, and whip up a batch of these cupcakes for your friends. Or just for yourself. Who says you can’t Trick or Treat solo?
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Spicy Devil's Food Cupcakes
These are no ordinary chocolate cupcakes! These Spicy Little Devil's Food Cupcakesturn up the heat with a cinnamon & cayenne ganache filling, and are topped with devilish decor perfect for any Halloween party!
4 from 7 votes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: devil's food cupcakes
Prep Time: 1 hour hour
Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 18 minutes minutes
Servings: 30 cupcakes
Calories: 422kcal
Author: Erica
Ingredients
Devil's Food Cupcakes
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- ½ cup black coffee cool
Spicy Cayenne Chocolate Ganache
- 1 pound dark chocolate finely chopped
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Fudge Icing
- 1 cup dark chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Devil's Food Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard cupcake pans with about 30 liners and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars, and vanilla on medium-high speed 2-3 minutes, until light in color and fluffy. Lower speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, being sure to blend fully before adding the next one.
Combine buttermilk and coffee in a measuring cup.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk-coffee blend, beginning and ending with flour, in ⅓-1/2 cup intervals, mixing until just incorporated between additions. Scrape bowl and paddle as necessary.
Divide the batter evenly between cupcake liners, filling each only ⅔ of the way. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.
Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool in the pans for about 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.
Spicy Cayenne Chocolate Ganache
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Place the cream in a microwave-safe cup and heat in 30-second intervals for 1½-2 minutes until cream is hot. Pour cream over chopped chocolate and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.
Whisk the cream and chocolate together from the center of the bowl in small circular motions until fully combined. Add butter, cinnamon, cayenne, and vanilla, and whisk until fully blended. Allow to cool at least one hour before filling cupcakes.
When ready to fill, cut a ¾-1 inch hold in the center of each cupcake about halfway down. Spoon ganache into a zipper or pastry bag and fill cupcakes until ganache just peeks over the top.
Chocolate Fudge Icing
Sift cocoa powder and sugar together in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Mix on medium to combine powders, then add butter and vanilla. Whip until incorporated, then increase speed to high for 4-5 minutes until icing has increased in volume and is lightened a bit.
Add whipping cream and salt on low speed until incorporated, then whip on high for another 2-3 minutes until fluffy.
Spoon icing into pastry bag fitted with your favorite cupcake tip and swirl away!
Notes
To garnish the cupcakes with the horns and tails, I used white fondant that I dyed red, and shaped tiny pieces into the shapes I needed. I also sprinkled them all with a little red sugar.
Nutrition
Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 250mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 650IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3.3mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a pic, post it, and mention @CrumbyKitchen or tag #crumbykitchen for some Instagram love!
REAL-LIFE REVIEWS FROM READERS!!
Elizabeth Lydiard says: “Awesome cupcakes that pack quite a punch.”
PIN THESE DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKE FOR LATER!
Check out these other amazing fun & spooky Halloween treats!
- Black Magic Caramel Apples by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Black Velvet Spider Cake by Love and Confections
- Bloody Broken Glass Cupcakes by Run DMT
- Buttercup Squash Pie Bites by Magnolia Days
- Candy Corn Fudge by Feeding Big
- Candy Corn Iced Sugar Cookies by Chocolate Chocolate and More
- Cauldron Cupcakes by Big Bear’s Wife
- Gluten Free Tombstone Treats by Gluten Free Crumbley
- Halloween Candy Brownies by Desserts Required
- Halloween Chocolate Gingerbread House by Recipes Food and Cooking
- Halloween Pumpkin Coconut Bars by Lifestyle Food Artistry
- Homemade Candy Corn Marshmallows by An Appealing Plan
- Jack o’ Lantern Cupcakes by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
- Mummy Chocolate Cupcakes by Family Foodie
- Pumpkin Bread Pudding by Recipe for Perfection
- Pumpkin Pie Puff Pastry Coffins by Ruffles & Truffles
- Pumpkin Spice Fudge by Runner’s Tales
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies by Midlife Road Trip
- Spicy Little Devil’s (Food) Cupcakes by The Crumby Cupcake
- Spiderweb Brownies by Life Tastes Good
Special Feature: Flavoring Sugar plus Halloween Sweets Recipes
Reader Interactions
These little devils are too cute, and Oh my that spicy cayenne-chocolate ganache filling sounds wonderfully devilish!
Reply
Renee says
Chocolate with a spicy kick – I’m all over it! And they are perfectly decorated too.
Reply
These are soooooo devilishly fabulous! I’m not sure I would be willing to share mine…especially if the others don’t eat all of them anyway! 😉
Reply
Love this idea!
Reply
This. Is. Brilliant.
I mean, sweet and spicy is a fantastic combination, and how could this cupcake not be insanely delicious?! I cannot wait to try these!
Reply
Shaina says
Such a clever Halloween idea! Plus…chocolate!!<3
Reply
Want… chocolate… now!!! That’s what your photos made me say!
Reply
Mira says
These look gorgeous!
Reply
4 from 7 votes (7 ratings without comment)
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