Cooking Directions

• Heat the oven to 350°F.  Place paper liners into 24 (2 1/2-inch) muffin-pan cups.Stir the flour, granulated sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.  Add the shortening and 2/3 cup milk and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes.  Pour the batter into the muffin-pan cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove the cupcakes from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.Beat the confectioners' sugar, butter-flavored shortening, the remaining vanilla extract and half the remaining milk in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed.  Gradually beat in the remaining milk until the frosting is desired consistency.Reserve 1/2 cup frosting.  Tint the remaining frosting orange with the food coloring.  Frost the cupcakes with the orange frosting.  Tint the reserved frosting black.  Using a pastry bag, pipe the black frosting in a spider web pattern on the cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cake flour1.333 cups granulated sugar1 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon baking powder0.5 cup (1/2 stick) vegetable shortening1.5 cups milk2 egg2.5 teaspoons vanilla extract4 cups confectioners' sugar0.333 cup butter-flavor vegetable shortening2 dashs orange food coloringor 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips2 dashs black food coloringor 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips