Hocus Pocus Spell Book Cupcakes

Directions

1. Prepare the book brownies: Use a cookie cutter to cut 22 rectangle brownies and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Fill a disposable piping bag fitted with a #4 tip with black cake frosting. Pipe a small dot of icing on the back of each Wilton small eyeball icing transfer and attach one to each brownie. On the side opposite the eye, pipe a straight line for the book's spine, then a squiggly line over it. Pipe a half-circle on each corner of the brownie to resemble a book cover, and add two small dollops. Repeat for all brownies and set aside.
2. Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with liners. In a large bowl, beat the chocolate fudge cake mix, 1 ¼ cups milk, 3 large eggs, and ½ cup softened unsalted butter until combined. Fill each liner about ¾ full. Bake for 18–20 minutes, then let cool completely.
3. Prepare the frosting: In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat 1 ½ cups softened unsalted butter, 4 ½ cups powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream until smooth and stiff peaks form. Transfer about 1 ½ cups of the frosting to a separate bowl and mix in a few drops of purple gel food coloring. Add a few drops of neon green gel food coloring to the remaining frosting until you reach the desired shade. Scoop 1 ½ cups of green frosting into one side of a medium piping bag fitted with a star tip, and the purple frosting into the other side. Fill a large piping bag fitted with an open star tip (Wilton 4B) with the remaining green frosting.
4. Decorate the cupcakes: Using the large piping bag, pipe a ring of green frosting around the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle green sprinkles from the Wilton Sprinkle Pouch over the frosting. With the medium piping bag (containing both green and purple), pipe a medium-sized dollop in the center of the frosting. Gently place a prepared spell book brownie on top of the swirled icing.