Melt the dark chocolate and heavy cream together over a bain-marie or in the microwave. Let it cool down to body temperature (it’s important that it’s not too hot).
100 g dark chocolate, 75 g heavy cream
Take the butter out of the fridge 10 minutes before starting and cut the butter into cubes. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
100 g butter, 175 g powdered sugar, 10 g dutch processed cocoa powder
In your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter for 4 minutes on medium/high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix 2 minutes more.
On low speed, add the vanilla extract and the sifted cocoa powder and powdered sugar in 2 portions, until each addition is fully incorporated. Then, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix for 2 minutes on low/medium speed.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finally add the melted dark chocolate and mix it in until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix to make sure it’s fully incorporated.
Tip: If the buttercream feels too soft, place in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then give it a good mix again before adding it to the piping bag.
With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, beat it well by hand to make sure to remove the air bubbles in the buttercream.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with a large round piping tip. Pipe the buttercream on the cupcakes. Add a piece of baking paper to a baking tray and place the cupcakes upside down and give it a gentle prep down so the buttercream gets a flat surface. Place the tray in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Gently lift the cupcakes of the baking paper and decorate with the pretzels, candy eyes and a red sprinkle as a nose.
Prezelts, Red sprinkle for the nose, Candy eyes
Serve it on the day, but it can also last well for 2-3 days on the kitchen counter, in an airtight container.