Christmas Tree Cupcakes

To make the Cupcakes:

To make the Icing

1. To make the chocolate cupcakes, pre-heat the oven to 160°C Fan / 180 C / Gas 4. I used a silicone muffin tin with fairly straight sides but you could use an ordinary muffin tin.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa into a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy and smooth, and then add the eggs one at a time, adding a tablespoon of the flour mixture with the second egg. Mix in the remaining flour and cocoa, then stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Pour the mixture into the paper cases – they should be two thirds full.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Leave in the muffin tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
5. Meanwhile colour 350g of buttercream green by mixing some of the green food colouring into the vanilla buttercream. Pipe some of the remaining white buttercream around the edges of the cupcakes.
6. Take the ice cream cones (if they are too large, you can trim off the end using a sharp knife). Apply a thin layer of green frosting all over the exterior of the ice cream cones using a palette knife. Stand these upside down on top of the cupcakes.
7. Transfer the remaining green frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small star shaped nozzle. Pipe green spiky leaves onto the trees.  Dust the trees with icing sugar so that it looks like snow on some of the leaves.
8. Finish off by garnishing with some edible silver balls.