Pumpkin cupcakes are filled with a cheesecake center, and then decorated as spiders for this perfect Halloween dessert. These Pumpkin Cheesecake Spider Cupcakes are scarily delicious!!
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, egg, salt and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt. In a third bowl, beat the eggs, pumpkin, both sugars and the vegetable oil. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.
Fill each of the cupcake liners about 1/3 full with the pumpkin batter. Top each with 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese filling, then add the remaining pumpkin batter, dividing it evenly over the tops of the filling. Bake the cupcakes until a tester inserted comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the buttercream: In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and slowly beat until combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Add enough cream to make the buttercream the right consistency to pipe.
To decorate the cupcakes, use grass tip (#233) to make the hair on the spiders. Starting at the center and moving outward, pipe rows of hair: With tip on surface of cupcake, squeeze bag, then release while quickly pulling up to form 1/4-inch-long blades, making some slightly longer than others.
Divide the licorice into separate strands and cut into 3 pieces each. Use a pair of tweezers to insert one end into the cupcake. It works best if you push the licorice into the cupcake, not just the buttercream. Go back over the tops of the legs with the frosting to fix any hair that was flattened by inserting the licorice. Add the eyes.