By KACI HANSEN
Arachnophobics be warned – this recipe may not be for you! In the short story “The Red Spot” from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a young girl wakes up with a strange blemish after finding a spider crawling on her cheek. During a hot relaxing bath, the blemish bursts, unleashing a swarm of tiny spiders from the eggs their mother had laid in her face!
In my recipe for “The Red Spot” cupcakes, large chewy tapioca ‘spider eggs’ and cherry pie filling ‘blood’ are lurking beneath a slightly-crunchy, caramelized ‘skin’ and garnished with a candy spider – perfect for celebrating the release of the new Scary Stories film!
Makes 8 cupcakes
Cupcakes:
- ¾ C. all-purpose flour
- ½ C. granulated sugar
- ⅛ tsp baking soda, heaping
- ½ tsp baking powder, heaping
- ⅜ C. salted butter, softened
- 2 egg whites
- ½ Tbsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. vanilla bean paste, optional
- ¼ C. sour cream
- ¼ C. heavy cream
Buttercream Icing:
- 2 C. confectioners sugar
- ½ C. salted butter, softened
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbsp. heavy cream
- Flesh-toned gel food colouring
Additional Supplies & Ingredients:
- 4 oz. cherry pie filling
- ¼ C. large pearl tapioca, cooked to package directions
- Large pastry bag fitted with round tip
- Granulated sugar
- Culinary torch
- Spider-shaped candy mould
- Black candy melts
For the Cupcakes:
- The day before, prepare the cupcakes: begin by preheating your oven to 350° Line a cupcake pan with 8 cupcake liners.
- In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a second bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
- Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing just until combined.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Allow to fully cool. These cupcakes are best served the day after baking.
For the Buttercream Icing:
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until light yellow and fluffy.
- Gradually add in the confectioners sugar.
- Add in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste.
- Add a small amount of gel food colouring to get the desired flesh tone.
- Transfer the icing to a large pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.
Assembly:
- Before assembling, cook the tapioca pearls to package directions. Allow to cool.
- Using the end of a large pastry tip, hollow out a small portion of each cupcake. Add a small amount of cherry pie filling to each hollow, topping with tapioca and additional cherry pie filling.
- Pipe buttercream icing around the edge of each cupcake. Dip the tops of the cupcakes into granulated sugar. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- While the cupcakes are chilling, melt the candy melts and pour into moulds. Refrigerate until hardened and remove from moulds.
- Once the icing has hardened, use a culinary torch to caramelize the sugar on the tops of the cupcakes. Allow to cool before adding the candy spiders to each cupcake, and serve.
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