Fluffy moist Mexican chocolate cupcakes with a sweet and spicy chocolate buttercream frosting. There is no better way to celebrate Halloween!

What I love about the age my daughter’s age now is that she is at the point where she LOVES holidays.

Of course, she also has a terrible sense of time so when she asks when the next holiday is coming up, she asks if it will happen “in one hour or one week?” And when something is coming up closer in time she asks if it is happening “tomorrow or the other one tomorrow.” Oh, kids…

The point is, she’s been really into Halloween planning this year and begged me to start my Halloween recipes already. And who am I to argue?

I realized I don’t have nearly enough chocolate recipes on my site so thought this would also be the perfect time to rectify that a bit!

When I was in university, my flatmate would bring these blocks of Mexican chocolate to make this incredibly indulgent hot chocolate recipe she got from her grandmother. I would get so excited once the aromas would begin to travel out of the kitchen and into the living room.

We would put them in thermoses and walk around our neighborhood, which was especially nice when it snowed. We would walk along the Chiswick bridge and make mini snowmen along the ledges for the cars to see during their daily commute.

These Mexican chocolate cupcakes are my way of honoring those precious moments I shared with one of my best friends when we were young and adventurous and always trying to create these amazing little moments in our lives.

And to my daughter who I am not creating precious little moments with.

To make the hats, I made my own small batch of marshmallow. It is a messy project, but so much fun. You can try using melted and cooled marshmallow or even marshmallow fluff. I haven’t tried these two workarounds though. If you do try them, please comment with how it worked out!

Luckily, these cupcakes are supposed to be kind of spooky, so if there so happens to be a messed up witch hat, all the more spooky.

I could think of no better way than these Mexican chocolate cupcakes to celebrate the cooler weather and Halloween!

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes

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These Mexican chocolate cupcakes are a sweet and spicy treat that you will love year-round.

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 oz dark or semisweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot brewed coffee
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated Dixie Crystals sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, room temperature

Witch's Hats

• 12 small gingersnaps
• marshmallow (I used the recipe for homemade marshmallows divided in half)
• 5 oz semisweet chocolate
• candy bones (optional)

For the Mexican Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon, plus 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• pinch of salt
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 - 5 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Mix together the chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot coffee together and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the ingredients are well combined. Set aside to cool.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.
4. Add the oil and eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until well combined.
5. Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and mix until combined and there are no lumps. Do not overmix.
6. Pour the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
7. Make the hats. Lay out the ginger snaps spaced evenly apart. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip with unset marshmallow (you can try to melted and slightly cooled packaged marshmallow and pipe.
8. Pipe kisses on top of the gingersnaps. Allow the marshmallow to set for at least an hour or two.
9. Melt the chocolate for the hats and dip each into the chocolate. Shake off any excess. Leave on a parchment sheet to dry. Once dry, add a drop of chocolate to the hat and adhere a candy bone to it if desired.
10. Make the buttercream. Whip the butter until soft and creamy. Add the cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt to the butter and mix well. The mixture will look dry and crumbly. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix well between each cup. Keep mixing the buttercream and drizzle in the heavy cream until the buttercream reaches a smooth, creamy consistency.
11. Fit a piping bag with a large round tip, then fill with the buttercream.
12. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. Top with the witch hats.