1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a muffin tin* with cupcake paper liners* and set aside.

2. Add the butter and chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl and place it over a pot with simmering water. Melt the butter and chocolate slowly, stir well until you get a smooth mixture. Set aside and let cool down.

3. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and chili powder until well combined. Set aside. In a large bowl mix both sugars with the eggs and vanilla extract until very light and fluffy. Add the cooled, melted chocolate mixture and stir it in. Add the flour alternating with the buttermilk in two batches and mix until just combined. Divide the batter between the paper liners and bake the cupcakes for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down completely on a wire rack.

4. For the frosting, add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl and melt it over a pot with simmering water. Let cool down again to room temperature – takes about 20 minutes. Add the butter to a large bowl and mix on high until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and mix until well combined. Make sure both ingredients have the same temperature. Next, add about 1 cup of confectioners‘ sugar and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. The frosting should be light and fluffy. Add more confectioners‘ sugar if you want it sweeter or if the texture is not right. If the buttercream gets too thick, add a bit of milk and mix it in. Fill the cream into a piping bag with a star tip and frost the cupcakes with a swirl of the buttercream. Drizzle with some melted chocolate and decorate with chili threads (both optional).

5. If you want to make the witches’ decoration as well, take some black fondant and roll it out on a clean surface. Dust with some confectioners‘ sugar before so it does not stick. Use a round cookie cutter or shot glass and cut out circles for the bases of the hats. Use some more black fondant to shape the tops of the hats and stick the top and bottom together. Color some of the white fondant red or orange. Decorate the hats with some of the red fondant by making a band or something like that. For the legs make thicker rolls with the white fondant and longer thin stripes with the red (or orange) fondant. Wrap those strips around the white rolls and press them together so they stick together. Form some shoes and stick them to the end of the legs. Decorate the cupcakes with those fondant objects to your liking.