Halloween Cyclops Cupcakes

1. Stage

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line cups with paper liners.

2. Stage

Sift cocoa powder into a large bowl and add 5 tablespoons boiling water. Stir into a thick paste, adding more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Add 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until batter is smooth.

3. Stage

Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir into the batter until well combined. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 to the top using an ice cream scoop.

4. Stage

Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tin for a few minutes; transfer to wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

5. Stage

Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter together in a bowl until creamy. Mix in vanilla extract. Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar gradually until frosting is smooth. Mix in green food coloring.

6. Stage

Frost each cupcake with a thin layer of green frosting and refrigerate for 30 minutes to make decorating easier. Frost with a second thin layer of green frosting.

7. Stage

Draw a small dot with the black decorating gel on each candy-coated milk chocolate piece for the pupil. Cut marshmallows into 4 slices with a sharp knife and stick 1 blue pupil in the center of each marshmallow piece.

8. Stage

Cut fruit leather into crescent shapes or semi-circles for the mouths using small sharp scissors.

9. Stage

Mix 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar with lemon juice in a bowl to make icing. Glue silver dragees onto the fruit leather mouths using a toothpick dipped in icing.

10. Stage

Assemble cyclops by placing a mouth and one marshmallow eye onto each cupcake. Stick 2 sunflower seeds on top of the cupcake for the horns.