You’ve picked out your costume, you’ve made your Halloween plans but now you need a sweet treat! Why not skip the candy and try creating these adorable Fall-themed cupcakes instead? Bake these for a Halloween party or for the second annual She’s the First Bake-Off this November!

Candy Corn Cupcakes (Courtesy of The Curvy Carrot)

Ingredients:

For the cupcake:

1 cup whole milk

6 large egg whites

2 teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 and 1/4 cups cake flour

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

For the frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

3 tablespoons heavy cream

2 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Instructions:

First you are going to start by making the cupcakes! Start by heating the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the milk, egg whites, and extracts together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Piece by piece, add the butter into the flour mixture and use an electric mixer on medium-low speed if possible. Beat in all but ½ a cup of the milk mixture and beat the batter until smooth and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly beat in the remaining ½ cup of the milk mixture. Pour the batter into cupcake liners within a tray. Bake the cupcakes for a total of 15-20 minutes. (Check often!) Let them cool while you create the frosting.

For the frosting, beat the butter, cream, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl with the electric mixer, until it’s smooth. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar. Mix the frosting until it’s light and fluffy (might take 5-10 minutes).  Divide the frosting into three bowls and tint two with yellow and orange food coloring. Hint: For an orange color, add a bit of red to the yellow dye. Finally, put the frostings in pastry bags and pipe the frosting into a candy-corn shape on the cupcakes!

For a simpler recipe: For those of you that are not quite as experienced bakers, don’t fret! There is an alternate way to make these cupcakes, and there is no shame in baking out of a box. Follow the easier directions on the box of Betty Crocker Cake Mix. Also, for the frosting, buy some plain vanilla frosting and dye it accordingly. It’s the same idea, just a bit of a shortcut!

For more information about She’s The First, check out CL’s interview with Brooke Sassman, STF’s summer executive assistant. And don’t forget to follow the organization @shesthefirst!.