Witch Hat Cupcakes

Directions

1. Heat your oven to 350°F and place paper liners in a muffin tin.
2. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee (if using), baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs and beat for 30 seconds.
4. Pour in half the buttermilk and beat for 20 seconds. Mix in half the dry ingredients. Then add the rest of the buttermilk and the hot water, beating just until incorporated, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Beat on low until just combined.
5. Scoop the batter into the liners until half full. Bake at 350°F for 17–19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool fully before frosting.
6. In a clean bowl, beat the butter and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 1–2 minutes.
7. Slowly add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until well incorporated.
8. If you'd like colored frosting, mix in the gel food coloring at this point.
9. Taste the frosting and adjust sweetness by adding more powdered sugar if desired. If it gets too thick, add a splash of milk or heavy cream.
10. For an even fluffier texture, beat in 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream along with the last portion of powdered sugar, then whip for 3–4 minutes.
11. Split the frosting into two bowls, coloring one green and the other black using gel food coloring.
12. Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 32 tip with the green frosting.
13. Place the black frosting in a piping bag with a Wilton 1A tip.
14. Pipe a single even layer of green frosting onto each cupcake.
15. Sprinkle green nonpareil sprinkles around the outer edge of the green frosting.
16. With the black frosting, begin at the center and pipe a wide, flat circle to form the hat's brim.
17. For the hat itself, pipe upward while applying pressure, lifting and lowering the tip to form creases. As you near the top, ease pressure and let the frosting form a peak. Repeat on all cupcakes.